K4- 


IC-NRLF. 


$B    m    717 


1663--1776. 


BY 


EDWIN  WEXLER  KENNEDY. 


A  Dissertation  Presented  to  the  Board  of  University 

Studies    of    the  Johns    Hopkins    University  in 

Conformity  with  the  Requirements  for  the 

Degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy. 

1897. 


THE  J.  W.  BOND  CO. 
BALTIMORE  MO. 

1903. 


1663-1776. 


BY 


EDWIN  WEXLER  KENNEDY. 


A  Dissertation  Presented  to  the  Board  of  University 

Studies    of    the   Johns    Hopkins    University  in 

Conformity  with  the  Requirements  for  the 

Degree  of   Doctor  of  Philosophy. 

1897. 


THE  J.   W.  BOND  CO. 
BALTIMORE  MD. 

1902. 


PREFACE. 

at 

The  aim  of  this  monograph  is  to  present  a  study  in  the 
colonial  history  of  North  Carolina,  along  two  lines  of  thought : 
(i).  The  History  of  Quit-rents,  (2).  The  History  of  Currency. 

Although  these  topics  are  economic  in  their  character,  they 
had  no  small  influence  on  the  political  development  of  the 
State.  They  were  elements  in  the  estrangement  which  grad- 
ually grew  between  the  mother  country  and  the  colony,  and 
their  history  forms  a  part  of  the  general  history  of  the  period. 

In  offering  this  work  to  the  public  I  desire  to  acknowledge 
my  indebtedness  to  Judge  Robert  W.  Winston,  of  Durham,  N. 
C.,  to  Doctor  John  C.  Kilgo,  President  of  Trinity  College,  N. 
C.,  and  to  Hon.  S.  G.  Gilbreath,  ex-State  Supt.  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion of  Tenn.  E.  W.  K. 


IN  NORTH 


1663-1776, 


CHAPTER  I.— QUIT-RENTS. 

In  1663  Charles  II,  as  feudal  lord  of  the  land  which  he  held  in 
America  by  the  right  of  discovery,  granted  to  eight  persons  as 
tenants-in-chief  that  portion  of  land  in  America  lying  between 
thirty-one  degrees  and  thirty-six  degrees,  north  latitude,  and 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans,  (i)  In  1665  the  grant  was  ex- 
tended on  the  north  to  thirty-six  degrees,  thirty  minutes 
and  on  the  south  to  twenty-nine  degrees,  north  latitude. 
(2.)  By  the  terms  of  the  grant  these  persons  were  created 
Lords  Proprietors  with  absolute  sovereignty  "saving  always 
the  faith,  allegiance,  and  sovereign  dominion,  due  us,  our 
heirs  and  successors."  (3)  They  were  "to  have,  hold,  usef 
exercise,  and  enjoy  the  same  (their  privileges)  as  amply, 
fully  and  in  as  ample  manner,  as  any  Bishop  of  Durham, 
in  our  Kingdom  of  England  ever  heretofore  had,  held, 
used,  or  enjoyed,  or  of  right  ought,  or  could,  have,  use  or  enjoy." 
(4)  It  was  provided  that  the  Lords  Proprietors  should  hold  the 
lands  "in  free  and  common  socage  and  not  in  capite  or  by 
knight  service,"  subject  to  the  payment  annually  of  one-fourth  of 
the  gold  and  silver  which  should  be  found  therein,  and  an  annual 
quit-rent  of  twenty  marks.  (5)  They  were  authorized  to  grant 
land  in  fee-simple,  fee-tail,  term  of  life  or  years,  at  such  rents, 
services  or  customs  as  they  desired,  the  statute  of  quia 
emptores  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  (6).  It  was  the 
desire  of  the  Lords  Proprietors  to  transport  subjects  of  the 
British  crown  from  the  Kingdom  of  England  and  from  other 
countries  subject  to  England,  to  Carolina,  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  a  colony  for  the  "propagation  of  the  Christian  faith  and 
the  enlargement  of  our  empire  and  dominions."  (7). 

(1)  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina  I,  p.  21.  Hereafter  cited  as  C.  R.  (2)  C.  R. 
I,  p.  104.  (3)  C.  R.  I,  p.  103.  (4)  Bassett's  "The  Con.  Beginnings  of  N.  C.,"  p.  20,  C. 
R.  I,  p.  103,  (5)  C.  R.  I,  p.  104.  (G)  C.  R.  I,  p.  110.  (7)  C.  R.  I.  p.  21. 


In  pursuance  of  this  purpose,  in  the  same  year  in  which  the 
colony  came  into  their  possession,  the  Lords  Proprietors  made 
an  announcement  to  the  public  entitled  "A  Declaration  and 
Proposals  to  All  That  will  Plant  in  Carolina,"  in  which  they 
stated,  "We  will  grant  to  every  present  undertaker  for  his  own 
head  one  hundred  acres  of  land,  to  him  and  his  heirs  forever, 
to  be  held  in  free  and  common  socage  ;  and  for  every  man 
servant  that  he  shall  bring  or  send  thither,  that  is  fit  to  bear  arms, 
armed  with  a  good  firelock  musket,  performed  bore,  twelve 
bullets  to  the  pound,  and  with  twenty  pounds  of  powder,  and 
twenty  pounds  of  bullets,  fifty  acres  of  land  ;  and  for  every 
woman  servant  thirty  acres ;  and  to  every  man  servant  that 
shall  come  within  that  time,  ten  acres  after  the  expiration  of  his 
time,  and  to  every  woman  servant  six  acres  after  the  expiration 
of  her  time."  (8).  These  propositions  were  limited  to  five 
years,  commencing  at  the  time  of  the  first  settlement.  (9).  The 
lands  so  granted  were  to  be  held  subject  to  the  payment  of  an 
annual  quit-rent  of  one  half-penny  per  acre,  four  shillings,  two 
pence  per  hundred  acres.  (10).  In  1667  the  Lords  Proprietors 
made  a  proposition  to  grant  sixty  acres  of  land  to  every  head  of  a 
family,  male  or  female,  sixty  acres  for  every  male  servant  able 
to  bear  arms  and  equipped  in  a  specified  manner,  and  fifty 
acres  each'  for  other  servants  composing  his  or  her  family,  the 
quit-rent  thereon  being  one  half-penny  per  acre.  (n).  In  the 
northeastern  part  of  the  colony  settlements  were  made  by 
people  who  held  their  lands  under  titles  granted  by  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  Colony  of  Virginia  at  one  farthing  per  acre.  In 
1679  the  Lords  Proprietors  instructed  President  Harvey  and 
Council  to  confirm  these  grants.  (12.)  Others  of  the  original 
settlers  purchased  their  lands  from  the  Indians.  This  part  of 
the  colony  became  Albemarle  county,  from  which  grew  the 
State  of  North  Carolina.  The  assembly  of  this  county  peti- 
tioned the  Lords  Proprietors  concerning  the  payment  of  quit- 
rents.  In  1668,  in  answer  to  that  petition,  they  made  what  is 
generally  known  as  the  "Great  Deed  of  Grant."  This  instru- 
ment secured  to  them,  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever,  their 
lands  "upon  the  same  terms  and  conditions  that  land  is  at 
present  usually  granted  in  Virginia."  (13).  The  law  of  Vir- 
ginia at  this  time  permitted  the  tenant  to  hold  his  or  her  land 
subject  to  the  payment  of  a  quit-rent  of  two  shillings  a  hun- 
dred acres,  payable  at  the  home  of  the  tenant  in  tobacco  at  a 
penny  a  pound.  (14).  In  1669,  the  Lords  Proprietors,  accord- 

(8).  C.  R.  I,  p.  45.    (9).  Ibid,  p.  45.     (10).  Ibid,  p.  46.    (11).  C.  R.  I,  p.  156.      C.  R.  V, 
p.  93.     (12)  C.R.I,  p.  338.    (13)  C-  R.  Ill,  p.  480,  481.    (14)  C.  R.  IV,  p.  109. 


ing  to  the  one  hundred  and  thirteenth  article  of  the  Funda- 
mental Constitutions,  stated  that,  "Whosoever  shall  possess  any 
free-hold  in  Carolina,  upon  what  title  or  grant  soever,  shall  at 
the  farthest,  from  and  after  the  year  one  thousand  six  hundred 
and  eighty-nine,  pay  yearly  unto  the  Lords  Proprietors,  for 
each  acre  of  land,  English  measure,  as  much  fine  silver  as  is  at 
this  present  time  in  one  English  penny,  or  the  value  thereof,  to 
be  as  a  chief  rent  and  acknowledgement  to  the  Lords  Proprie- 
tors, their  heirs  and  successors  forever/'  (15).  In  1694  the 
Lords  Proprietors  instructed  Governor  Archdale  to  sell  land  in 
the  colony,  reserving  an  annual  quit-rent  of  one  shilling  per 
hundred  acres  for  some,  and  four  shillings  and  two  pence  for 
other  lands.  (i6).  In  regard  to  the  lands  lying  north  of  the 
Cape  Fear  he  was  authorized  to  use  his  own  discretion  as  to 
the  rate  of  quit-rent,  provided  it  should  not  be  less  than  a  half- 
penny per  acre.  (17).  In  1708  the  governor  was  instructed  to 
grant  land  at  a  quit-rent  of  a  half-penny  per  acre,  with  the  pro- 
viso that  no  person  should  have  more  than  six  hundred  and  forty 
acres.  (18).  In  1663  an  island,  about  five  miles  long  and  two 
miles  in  width,  lying  near  the  mouth  of  the  Albemarle  river, 
was  granted  to  Sir  John  Colleton  at  a  quit-rent  of  a  half-penny 
per  acre  for  all  tillable  lands,  provided  that  "all  others  that 
shall  plant  in  North  Carolina  pay  as  much."  (19).  The  gov- 
ernors were  not  always  obedient  to  the  instructions  of  the 
Lords  Proprietors.  They  so  abused  the  power  entrusted  to 
them  that  the  Lords  Proprietors  in  1715  ordered  that  the  land 
office  should  be  closed,  and  that  the  land  should  be  sold  only 
by  themselves  in  London.  (20).  In  violation  of  this  order  the 
governor  and  council  in  1724  allowed  people  to  take  lands  in 
Bath  County  at  three  shillings  per  hundred  acres.  When  the 
Royal  period  began,  the  King  instructed  the  governor  of  the 
colony  that  thereafter  the  rate  of  quit-rents  should  be  four 
shillings  per  hundred  acres.  (21). 

THE    QUIT  RENT    ROLL. 

The  quit-rent  roll  was  a  list  of  names  of  persons  holding  land 
in  the  colony  subject  to  the  payment  of  quit- rents,  showing  the 
location  of  the  land,  the  number  of  acres,  the  rate,  and  amount 
of  quit-rents  to  be  paid  by  each  person.  The  method  of  secur- 
ing land  in  the  colony  was  very  simple.  The  colonist  petition- 
ing for  a  grant  of  land  was  required  to  prove  his  right  before 
the  Governor  and  as  many  as  four  members  of  the  council  not 

(IB)    C.  R.  I,  p.  204.    (16)  C.  R.  I,  p.  390,  C.  R.  V,  p.  94.     (17)  C.  R.  I,  p.  391.     (18)  C.  R. 
V,  p.  94.    (10)  C.  R.  I,  p.  55.     (5JO)  C.  R.  V,  p.  95.     (rilj  C.  R.  V,  p.  96. 


having  any  interest  in  the  land.  If  the  land  was  granted,  the 
warrant  was  issued  by  the  Governor  in  council,  and  recorded  in 
the  auditor's  office.  The  warrant  was  returnable  by  the  surveyor 
within  a  year.  When  the  warrant  was  returned  the  grant  was 
made  and  was  required  to  be  registered  in  the  secretary's  office 
within  six  months.  (22.) 

In  1713,  Governor  Pollock  and  his  council  met  at  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Governor  in  Chowan  precinct,  and  in  compliance 
with  the  requirements  of  the  Lords  Proprietors  concerning  the 
formation  of  a  quit-rent  roll,  appointed  five  persons  from  Cho- 
wan, two  from  Perquimans,  four  from  Pasquotank,  two  from 
Currituck  precincts,  and  four  from  Bath  county,  to  take  a  list  of 
all  lands  held  in  their  respective  precincts,  showing  how  the  land 
was  held,  how  long  held  and  what  rent  was  due.  All 
persons  were  required  to  appear  before  these  listers  and 
give  on  oath  the  required  information  by  the  last  day 
of  October  of  that  year.  The  lands  of  all  persons  who 
failed  to  comply  with  this  requirement  were  to  be  con- 
sidered forfeited  and  subject  to  be  entered  as  though  no  one 
had  ever  held  them.  (23.)  In  1726,  Edward  Moseley,  the  Sur- 
veyor General,  reported  to  the  Governor  and  council  a  list  of 
all  the  grants  of  land  recorded  in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of 
Albemarle  county,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  rent  roll.  The 
secretary  was  ordered  to  have  copies  made  with  the  addition  of 
the  more  recent  grants  for  the  use  of  the  collectors.  (24.) 

The  difficulty  of  forming  a  rent  roll  was  not  only  due  to  the 
settlers  but  to  the  officers  of  the  colony.  Governor  Everard  in 
1729  sold  four  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  at  twenty 
pounds  a  thousand,  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  commissioners 
for  running  the  boundary  line  between  the  colony  and  Virginia. 
The  grants  were  duly  signed  and  sealed,  but  the  names  of  the 
grantees,  the  number  of  acres,. and  the  amounts  paid,  were  not 
specified.  The  lands  were  not  described,  nor  had  they  even 
been  surveyed.  (25).  Governor  Burrington,  the  first  royal 
governor,  was  instructed  by  the  King  to  give  his  consent  to  an 
act  of  the  assembly  to  remit  all  arrears  of  quit-rents,  payable 
to  the  Lords  Proprietors,  which  were  included  in  the  King's 
purchase,  provided  that  all  land-owners  in  the  colony  should 
register  their  grants  in  the  auditor's  office,  and  should  in  the 
future  pay  the  rate  of  quit-rents  specified  in  the  original 
grant.  The  requirements  of  the  King  were  not  satisfactory  to 
the  colonists.  They  refused  to  re-register  their  lands,  and  the 

(22)  C.  R.  V,  p.  100.    (23)  C.  R.  II,  p.  35.    (24)  C.  R.  II,  p.  603.      (25)  C.  R.  IV,  p.  266. 
C.R.  V,p.  95. 

8 


quit-rent  roll  remained  incomplete.  Other  efforts  were  made 
from  time  to  time  to  secure  a  satisfactory  law  for  the  formation 
of  a  quit-rent  roll,  but  a  lack  of  harmony  between  the  depart- 
ments of  'the  assembly  prevented.  In  1738  the  assembly 
passed  an  act  for  forming  a  quit-rent  roll.  The  Governor  signed 
it,  but  it  was  annulled  by  the  King  in  council.  (26).  In  1748 
an  act  was  passed  by  the  assembly  providing  for  the  formation 
of  a  quit-rent  roll.  The  act  required  that  all  persons  except 
orphans,  minors,  and  persons  beyond  the  sea,  who  held  land  in 
the  colony  and  grants  from  the  Lords  Proprietors  not 
registered,  should  register  them  within  a  period  of  twelve 
months.  The  lands  in  the  territory  belonging  to  the 
King  were  to  be  registered  in  the  office  of  the 
Auditor  General,  or  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the 
county  court  where  the  lands  were  situated.  Those  who 
held  land  in  the  territory  of  Earl  Granville  were  to  register  such 
lands  as  were  not  entered,  in  his  office  or  in  the  office  of  the 
clerk  of  the  county  court  where  the  lands  were  situated.  All 
patents  which  were  not  registered  within  the  specified  time  were 
to  be  considered  void.  All  registers  were  required  to  report 
annually  to  the  Auditor  General  or  Earl  Granville's  agents  re- 
spectively, a  list  of  the  transfers  of  land  in  their  respective  coun- 
ties, specifying  the  names  of  persons,  the  number  of  acres,  the 
situation  of  the  land,  and  the  date  of  the  transfer.  It  was  re- 
quired that  the  secretary  make  a  similar  report  of  the  wills.  (27). 
In  a  report  of  the  condition  of  the  colony  made  to  the  Lords 
Commissioners  for  Trade  and  Plantations  in  1761,  it  appears 
that  the  quit-rent  roll  was  then  incomplete.  (28).  The  auditor 
up  to  this  time  had  not  kept  a  register  of  the  grants  of  land. 
He  had  only  a  partial  list  which  was  taken  from  the  record  of 
the  secretary.  One  thing  that  augmented  the  difficulty  in  mak- 
ing a  quit-rent  roll  was  the  variety  in  the  size  of  the  grants  of 
land.  The  amount  of  land  the  early  settlers  received  depended 
upon  the  number  of  servants  they  imported.  The  number  of 
acres  allowed  for  each  person  varied  from  time  to  time.  In 
1708  the  Lords  Proprietors  instructed  the  Governor  to  limit 
the  grants  to  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  (29.)  In  1715,  the 
assembly  passed  an  act  prohibiting  a  surveyor  from  surveying 
more  than  that  number  of  acres  in  one  tract.  In  1736,  the  King 
directed  that  one  million  two  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  be 
granted  to  Henry  McCulloh  and  others.  In  accordance  with 
which,  this  number  of  acres  was  taken  in  ninety-six  grants  of 

(26)  C.  R.  V,  p.  100.    Iredell,  57.     (27)  Iredelt,  121,  134.    (28)  C    R.  VI,  p.  618.    (29)  C. 
R.  V,  p.  94. 


twelve  thousand  five  hundred  acres.  (30.)  Henry  McCulloh  re- 
ceived eight  tracts  of  twelve  thousand  five  hundred  each,  situated 
on  the  "branches  of  the  Nues  and  Tarr  rivers."  (31.)  These 
grants  were  made  with  the  idea  of  settling  French  protestants, 
two  hundred  acres  of  land  being  allowed  to  each  person.  (32.) 
It  is  not  surprising  that  it  was  so  difficult  to  keep  records  of  the 
grants  of  land  when  we  remember  that  the  colony  was  for  many 
years  without  a  capitol.  The  assembly  met  from  place  to  place, 
at  Bath,  Edenton,  Newberne,  and  Wilmington.  The  meetings 
were  held  in  private  houses.  There  was  no  place  where  the 
records  could  be  kept  with  safety.  The  officers  often  lived  far 
from  each  other.  Governor  Gabriel  Johnston  in  a  letter  to  the 
Board  of  Trade,  dated  December  28th,  1748,  said:  "The  public 
records  lie  in  a  miserable  condition,  one  part  of  them  at  Eden- 
ton  near  the  Virginia  Line,  in  a  place  without  Lock  or  Key;  a 
great  part  of  them  in  the  Secretary's  House  at  Cape  Fear, 
above  Two  Hundred  Miles  Distance  from  the  other,  Some  few 
of  'em  at  the  Clerk  of  the  Council's  House  at  Newbern,  so  that 
in  whatever  part  of  the  Colony  a  man  happens  to  be,  if  he 
wants  to  consult  any  paper  or  record  he  must  Send  Some  Hun- 
dred of  Miles  before  he  can  come  at  it."  (33.)  The  colonists  were 
careless  in  keeping  and  auditing  the  accounts  of  public  busi- 
ness, but  they  were  not  much  more  so  than,  the  Mother  Country 
seems  to  have  been,  for  from  1714  to  1802  England  made  no  reg- 
ular statement  of  her  financial  condition.  It  was  not  until  after 
1822  that  a  regular  annual  financial  statement  of  income  and 
expenditure  was  made  to  Parliament.  (34.)  This  example  may 
have  had  some  influence  on  the  colonists. 

THE    COLLECTION    OF    QUIT-RENTS. 

The  early  settlers  of  North  Carolina  were  probably  required 
to  pay  their  quit-rents  in  money,  while  the  colonists  of  Virginia 
were  permitted  to  pay  theirs  in  tobacco.  (35.)  In  1668  the  Lords 
Proprietors,  in  answer  to  a  petition  made  by  the  Assembly  of 
Albemarle  county  concerning  the  payment  of  quit-rents,  granted 
the  inhabitants  of  that  county  permission  to  pay  their  quit-rents 
in  tobacco.  The  colonists  offered  other  commodities  as 
well,  which  were  accepted  by  the  receivers  and  disposed  of 
according  to  the  direction  of  the  Lords  Proprietors.  This 
method  of  payment  was  not  so  unfavorable  to  the  Lords  Pro- 
prietors when  the  settlements  were  made  along  the  Albemarle 

(30)  C.  R.  V,  p.  104.  $1)  Deed  owned  by  Mrs.  Maggie  I,.  H.  Hicks,  Nashville, 
Tenn.  (32)  C.  R.  V,  p.  104.  (33)  C.  R.  IV,  p.  1165.  (34)  C.  R.  Ill,  pp.  480,  481.  (35)  C. 
R.  IV,  p.  109. 

10 


and  Pamlico  Sounds  and  the  rivers  running  into  them.  The 
commodities  could  be  easily  and  quickly  transported.  But  when 
the  interior  of  the  colony  was  settled  this  method  became  im- 
practicable. One  defect  of  this  system,  which  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  considering  the  times,  became  evident:  the  first 
fruits,  the  best  of  the  commodities,  were  not  scrupulously 
reserved  for  the  rent  collectors.  (36.)  In  1715,  an  act  was 
passed  by  the  Assembly  requiring  all  goods  in  distress  for  quit- 
rents,  to  be  valued  by  four  free-holders  under  oath,  and  in  the 
event  the  goods  were  not  redeemed  within  ten  days,  they  should 
be  received  at  that  value  by  the  person  in  whose  interest  the 
distress  was  made.  (37.)  The  data  at  hand  is  not  sufficient  to 
make  an  accurate  exhibit  of  the  collections  of  the  quit-rents  during 
the  proprietary  period.  The  first  regular  statements  of  the  Re- 
ceiver Generals  we  find,  were  made  after  the  Lords  Proprietors 
sold  their  interests  in  the  colony  to  the  King.  The  amount  of 
arrears  of  quit-rents  was  not  large  at  that  time.  The  payment  of 
quit-rents  during  this  period  was  made  largely  in  commodities. 
The  Lords.  Proprietors  had  houses  indifferent  parts  of  the  colony 
for  storing  the  produce  which  they  received  in  payment  of  lands 
and  quit-rents.  (38.)  Williamson  says:  "The  rent  of  land  on 
Salmon  Creek  was  assigned  by  law  to  Governor  Ludwell  for  the 
payment  of  his  salary."  (39.)  In  1733  the  King  in  order  to 
encourage  his  officers  in  the  collection  of  quit-rents  established 
a  list  of  salaries  which  was  to  be  paid  out  of  the  quit-rents,  (40.) 
but  the  officers  were  so  careless  in  the  matter  that 
the  amount  collected  was  not  sufficient  to  satisfy  these 
claims.  The  Receiver  General  collected  ,£4,200  of  back  rents 
from  1729  to  1736.  According  to  the  report  of  the  Receiver 
General  from  1735  to  1748,  including  both  years,  there  was 
collected  the  sum  of  ,£13,356,  173.  9d.  sterling,  which  was  an 
average  of  about  ,£954  a  year.  (41).  The  collections  from  1741 
to  1745,  inclusive  were  ,£4,003,  is.  2d.,  an  average  of  about 
.£800,  35.  19  3~5d.  a  year.  (42).  Governor  Gabriel  Johnston 
granted  during  his  administration  up  to  July  i2th,  1743, 
1,047,000  acres  of  land  which  should  have  produced  a  quit- 
rent  of  ,£2,094  m  addition  to  the  amount  of  quit-rents  from 
grants  made  during  the  proprietary  period.  (43).  The  receipts 
from  1745  to  1748,  inclusive,  were  ,£1,261,  75.  id.,  an  average 

(36)  C.  R.  IV.  p.  931.  (37)  C.  R.  IV,  p.  678.  (38)  Williamson's  Hist,  of  N.  C.,  Vol.  I, 
p.  163,  (39)  Ibid.  p.  164.  (40)  C.  R.  V,  pp.  97,  20,  77.  (41).  C.  R.  V,  p.  20.  (42).  C.  R.  V, 
p.  101.  (43).  C.  R.  IV,  p.  1136. 

Governor,  ^"1,000;  Auditor,  ,£"100;  Chief  Justice,  /"70;  Baron,  /"40;  Surveyor 
General,  ^40;  Secretary,  /'TO;  Attorney-General,  ^80;  Clerk  of  Crown,  ^25; 
Charges  for  the  Exchequer,  ^"30;  Total,  ^"1,455. 

11 


of  .£323,  6s.  9^(d.  a  year.  (44).  The  amount  collected  be- 
tween May  1 4th,  1751  and  October  5th,  1751,  was  ,£161,  8s. 
(45).  It  is  evident  from  these  figures  that  the  amount  of  col- 
lections decreased  after  the  salaries  of  officers  were  made  pay- 
able from  the  quit-rents.  It  appears  from  a  report  made  to 
the  Lords  of  the  Treasury  in  1753  that  the  colony  owed  the 
widow  of  Governor  Johnston  more  than  ,£13,000  sterling,  pay- 
able from  the  quit-rents.  (46.)  In  1754  Governor  Dobbs  re- 
quested the  Board  of  Trade  to  represent  to  the  King  the 
necessity  of  making  other  provision  for  the  support  of  the 
government  until  the  collections  should  be  adequate  to  pay  the 
debts  and  meet  the  expenses  of  the  government.  (47).  The 
great  decrease  in  the  collection  of  quit-rents  was  largely  due  to 
the  grant  made  by  the  King  to  Earl  Granville  in  1744  of  that 
part  of  the  colony  of  North  Carolina  lying  between  thirty-five 
degrees,  thirty-four  minutes  and  thirty-six  degrees,  thirty  min- 
utes, north  latitude.  (48).  This  transfer  of  territory  placed 
more  than  one-half  of  the  colony  in  the  possession  of  Earl 
Granville.  Another  cause  that  militated  against  the  collection  of 
the  quit-rents  was  the  lack  of  a  quit-rent  roll.  About  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century  there  was  a  great  influx  of  immigrants 
from  Scotland,  Ireland  and  Moravia,  which  added  greatly  to  the 
development  of  the  colony.  The  increase  in  the  collection  of  quit- 
rents  is  noticeable,  notwithstanding  the  demoralization  of  the 
French  and  Indian  war.  The  report  of  the  Receiver  General  for 
two  years,  from  March  25th,  1770,  to  March  25th,  1772,  shows 
a  collection  of  ,£2,242,  73.  9^2 d.,  an  average  of  ,£1,121,  53. 
lod.  a  year.  (49).  This  shows  a  decided  increase  in  the 
collection  of  quit-rents.  The  officers  of  the  Crown,  who  were 
land-owners,  were  negligent  in  the  payment  of  their  quit-rents, 
and  yet  they  demanded  the  payment  of  their  salaries  out  of  the 
quit-rents,  as  though  they  owed  nothing.  (50).  The  report  of 
the  Receiver  General  for  the  year  ending  March  25th,  1773, 
shows  a  quit-rent  collection  of  ,£996,  6d.  (51).  At  this  time 
there  was  due  to  the  officers  of  the  colony  the  sum  of  ,£11,388, 
6s.,  3d.,  which  was  to  be  paid  from  the  quit-rents.  (52). 

THE    ADMINISTRATION   OF    QUIT-RENTS. 

The  rate  of  quit-rents  each  person  was  required  to  pay  was 
determined  from  the  grants.  (53).  The  only  fiscal  importance 
of  the  quit-rents  lay  in  the  fact  that  the  Crown  officers  of  the 
colony  were  paid  from  them.  They  were  to  be  collected  and 

(44).  C.  R.  V,  pp.  78,  101.  (45)  C.  R.  V,  p.  21.  (46)  C.  R.  V,  p.  22.  (47)  C.  R.V,  p.  78. 
(48)  C.  R.  V,  p.  101.  <4'J)  C.  R.  IX,  p.  650.  (50)  C.  R.  IX,  p.  646.  (51)  C.  R.  IX,  p.  60!). 
(52)  C.  R.  IX,  p.  655.  (53).  C.  R.  VII,  p.  484. 

12 


accounted  for  under  the  supervision  of  the  Receiver  General, 
who  was  appointed  by  the  Lords  Proprietors  during  the  the 
proprietary  period  and  by  the  Crown  thereafter.  He  received 
no  salary,  but  was  allowed  a  commission  of  ten  per  cent,  on  all 
receipts,  and  in  some  cases  a  certain  fee  for  distraining.  (54). 
It  was  his  duty  to  disburse  the  receipts  according  to  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  Lords  Proprietors  during  the  proptietary  period, 
or  of  the  King  during  the  royal  period.  (55).  He  was  required 
to  account  to  the  governor  and  council  for  all  such  sums.  (56). 
His  deputies  were  appointed  by  and  were  responsible  to  him 
for  all  collections.  (57).  They  were  allowed  a  commission  of 
five  per  cent.  Each  deputy  was  required  to  give  bond  of 
;£i,ooo  for  the  faithful  performance  of  the  duty  of  his  office. 
(58).  Their  reports  were  to  be  made  to  the  Receiver  General 
annually.  In  addition  to  the  collections,  they  were  to  report  to 
him  all  grants  not  on  the  quit-rent  roll.  (59).  Later  the  sheriffs 
became  the  collectors  of  the  quit-rents,  and  were  allowed  a 
commission  of  five  per  cent.  (60).  The  chief  duties  of  the 
office  of  auditor  were  to  certify  and  enter  the  warrants  for 
lands,  (61)  to  audit  the  patents  of  land,  (62)  to  audit  the 
accounts  of  the  Receiver  General,  to  issue  "debentures"  to  the 
officers  whose  salaries  were  to  be  paid  from  the  quit-rents,  (63) 
and  to  prepare  a  quit-rent  roll  for  the  Receiver  General.  (64) 
The  auditor  did  not  receive  a  salary,  but  was  to  be  paid  certain 
fees  which  were  established  by  the  Assembly.  (65).  The  duties 
of  the  office  in  the  colony  were  performed  by  a  deputy  auditor. 
(66).  There  was  in  addition  to  these  officers  a  commissioner 
appointed  by  the  Crown,  whose  duty  it  was  to  supervise,  in- 
spect, and  control,  the  revenues  and  grants  of  land  in  North 
and  South  Carolina.  (67). 

CONCLUSION. 

In  concluding  the  study  of  quit-rents,  it  is  proper  to  state  that 
the  colonists,  so  far  as  we  have  evidence,  never  denied  their  ob- 
ligations to  pay  the  quit-rents,  but  questions  of  rate,  of  how  and 
where  the  rents  should  be  paid,  were  the  causes  of  no  small 
amount  of  trouble.  The  Governor  claimed  the  right  to  deter- 
mine what  should  be  offered  in  payments  and  where  the  pay- 
ments should  be  made.  (68.)  It  had  been  customary  in  the 
early  days  of  the  colony,  when  money  was  scarce,  for  the 

(54)  C.  R.  VI,  p.  756.  (Y5)  C.  R.  VIT,  p.  484.  "The  State  Records  of  N.  C."  Vol.  XI, 
p.  5.  (56)  C.  R.  VIII,  p.  150.  (57)  C.  R.  V,  p.  422.  (58)  C.  R.  V.  p.  422.  (5J>)  C.  R.  V, 
p.  423.  (60)  C.  R.VI.  p.  621.  (61)  C.  R.VII,  p.  484.  (82)  C.  R.  VII,  p.  485.  (63)  C.  R. VII, 
p.  484.  (64)  C.  R.  V,p.  588.  (65)  C.  R.  VII,  p.  485  :  C.  R.  IV,  1128.  <,f*6)  C.  R.  VII,  p.  484. 
<67)  "The  State  Records  of  N.  C .,"  XI,  p.  31.  (68)  C.  R.  Ill,  vi..  C.  R.  IV,  xiv. 


colonists  to  pay  their  quit-rents  in  commodities  and  on  the  plan- 
tations where  they  were  produced.  In  Governor  Johnston's 
administration  a  bill  was  pending  in  the  Assembly  determining 
four  places  for  the  payment  of  these  dues.  The  House  of  Bur- 
gesses refused  to  agree  to  it.  Thereupon  the  Governor  issued  a 
proclamation  determining  where  the  quit-rents  were  to  be  paid 
and  also  the  rates  at  which  the  commodities  were  to  be  received. 
(69.)  The  House  of  Burgesses  protested,  but  their  protest  was 
ineffectual.  The  collectors  were  obedient  to  his  proclamation. 
(70.)  The  following  year  the  House  of  Burgesses  petitioned  for 
permission  to  present  their  grievances.  (71.)  The  Governor 
ignored  the  petition.  The  collectors  continued  "to  destrain  for 
the  rents."  Whereupon  the  Assembly  ordered  the  collectors  to 
be  placed  in  custody.  Then,  according  to  the  record,  "His  Ex- 
cellency being  now  come  to  the  Upper  House,  and  having  sent  a 
message  to  command  the  immediate  attendance  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses,  they  not  paying  obedience  thereto,  His  Excellency 
was  pleased  to  send  another  message  to  them;  but  they  still 
neglecting  to  give  their  attendance,  His  Excellency  then  by  and 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  His  Majesty's  Council,  prorogued 
the  General  Assembly  to  the  first  day  of  March  next,  then  to 
meet  at  New  Bern."  (72.)  This  event  occurred  in  1736.  This 
vigorous  act  of  the  Governor  did  not  settle  the  question  at  issue. 
The  people  were  determined  in  their  demands.  In  1739  the 
Governor  realized  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  collect  the  quit- 
rents  unless  it  should  be  done  in  a  manner  acceptable  to  the 
people.  Accordingly,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Assembly  (73) 
in  which  there  were  two  notable  concessions.  (74.)  The  first 
was  the  agreement  to  refer  the  matter  of  determining  the  value 
of  paper  currency  to  a  committee  consisting  of  the  Governor, 
members  of  the  Council,  the  Attorney  General  and  the  Receiver 
General,  and  a  like  number  of  members  of  the  House  of  Bur- 
gesses. The  other  concession  was  concerning  the  number  of 
places  at  which  the  payments  should  be  made,  of  which  the  Gov- 
ernor said  "it  could  have  been  wished  were  fewer  in  number, 
but  there  was  no  possibility  of  avoiding  it."  (75.)  But,  finally 
in  1740,  the  King  refused  to  sanction  the  act. 

In  1741,  an  unsuccessful  effort  was  made  to  pass  a  Quit-rent 
Act.  (76.)  In  1744,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Assembly  a  "Committee 
on  Propositions  and  Grievances"  presented  the  following  resolu- 
tions, which  the  House  endorsed:  "Resolved  by  this  Com- 
mittee that  no  produce  of  this  province  being  accepted  in  pay- 

(69)  C.  R.  IV,  xiv.      (70)    Ibid.      (71)  C.  R.  IV,  xv.      (72)  C.  R.  IV,  xvi.      (73)  C.  R.  IV, 
xvii.      (74)  C.  R.  IV,  xvii.    (75)  C.  R.  IV,  xvii.    (76)  C.  R.  IV,  xvii. 

14 


ment  of  quit-rents  of  late  years,  nor  the  current  bills  at  less  than 
10  for  i,  which  is  equal  to  sterling  money,  as  this  from  the  great 
scarcity  of  silver  and  gold  puts  it  entirely  out  of  the  power  of 
the  greatest  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  province  to  pay  their 
quit-rents  being  contrary  to  the  Grand  Deed  and  also  of  law  of 
this  province  is  a  Very  great  grievance."  (77.) 

In  1755  the  quit-rent  question  came  up  again  in  the  Assembly 
and  an  act  was  passed  which  authorized  the  land  owners  to  pay 
their  quit-rents  in  inspector's  notes  for  tobacco  and  indigo.  (78.) 
It  seems  from  a  letter  written  by  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth  to 
Governor  Martin,  that  the  King  had  under  consideration  an  act 
passed  by  the  Assembly  concerning  the  quit-rent  question  as  late 
as  1774,  the  year  before  that  assigned  to  the  Mecklenburg  De- 
claration of  Indendence.  (79.)  After  the  outbreak  of  hostilities 
the  whole  question  passed  beyond  the  influence  of  the  King  for- 
ever. 


(77)  C.  R.  IV,  xvii.    (78)  C.  R.  V,  458.     (79)  C.  R.  IX,  834. 

15 


CHAPTER  II.     CURRENCY. 

The  history  of  the  currency  of  North  Carolina  during  the 
colonial  period  is  not  the  least  important  phase  of  her  growth. 
It  furnishes  a  fertile  field  of  instruction  to  the  historian  as  well  to 
the  economist,  although,  in  general,  the  financial  history  of 
that  colony  is  similar  to  others.  They  all  experienced  one  thing 
very  early  in  their  development :  they  felt  the  need  of  some 
means  of  facilitating  the  exchange  of  the  products  of  their 
industry.  The  great  variety  of  means  to  which  they  were 
obliged  to  resort  is  interesting  to  observe.  How  they  accom- 
plished so  much  with  their  little  money  and  limited  resources  is 
indeed  wonderful.  In  North  Carolina  as  in  the  other  colonies 
the  early  settlers  were  primitive  people  and  their  surroundings 
were  of  like  nature.  Their  wants  were  few  and  simple.  They 
came  principally  from  Virginia.  Their  motives  were  economic 
as  well  as  political.  They  were  soon  able  to  supply  in  a  great 
measure  their  own  wants  from  their  new  and  fertile  fields.  But 
as  the  colony  grew  in  numbers  and  in  wealth  and  as  the  division 
of  labor  took  place,  they  naturally  became  more  dependent  on 
money  and  felt  more  sensibly  the  need  of  an  increase  in  the  volume 
in  circulation.  As  the  colonists  ceased  producing  all  they  con- 
sumed, they  became  more  and  more  dependent  on  the  products 
of  the  labor  of  others  to  supply  their  wants.  This  division  of 
labor,  in  the  scarcity  of  money,  necessitated  the  exchange  of  one 
commodity  for  another.  Trade  sprang  up  and  something  more 
than  barter  was  necessary  to  meet  its  demands.  The  double 
coincidence  of  barter  became  a  burdensome  barrier  to  the  pro- 
gress of  the  colony.  It  is  instructive  to  study  the  variety  of 
plans  the  colonists  adopted  in  their  attempts  to  evolve  a  circu- 
lating medium  adequate  to  the  increasing  demand  of  trade.  In 
doing  this,  we  shall  include  in  the  term,  currency,  anything  that 
performs  the  functions  of  money,  from  cheese  to  gold,  (i.) 

GOLD    AND    SILVER. 

North  Carolina  coined  no  money  during  her  colonial  period. 
The  sovereign  claimed  the  prerogative  of  coining  all  the  gold 
and  silver,  and  his  claim  was  sanctioned  by  constitutional  and 

(1)  Gibbon  in  "Walker's  Political  Economy."  p.   124. 

16 


by  civil  law.  (2.)  The  early  settlers  doubtless  brought  some 
gold  and  silver  with  them.  The  foreign  trade  of  the  colony, 
which  owing  to  the  inaccessibility  of  her  harbors  was  not  so 
great  as  that  of  some  of  the  other  colonies,  and  her  trade  with 
New  England,  the  West  Indies,  Virginia  and  South  Carolina, 
enabled  her  to  accumulate  the  coinage  of  other  countries.  (3.) 
There  was  an  appreciable  amount  of  coin  in  circulation  in  the 
colony  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  President 
Rowan,  who  had  been  a  merchant,  said  in  1733  that 
he  had  taken  more  than  one  hundred  pounds  weight 
of  silver  at  one  time  to  England.  (4).  Of  the  amount  of  coin 
then  in  circulation,  a  part  was  due  to  the  illicit  trade  existing 
between  the  colony  and  the  West  Indies.  (5).  The  colonists 
added  much  to  their  circulation  through  the  trade  which  was 
carried  on  with  the  pirates  who  infested  the  coasts  of  the 
colony  and  West  Indian  waters.  It  is  not  surprising  that  it  was 
difficult  for  the  colonists  at  that  early  time  to  discriminate  be- 
tween privateering  and  pirating,  since  some  of  these  pirates 
held  commissions  from  the  English  government  to  prey  upon 
the  commerce  of  their  enemies,  the  Spanish.  These  bold  sea 
rovers  would  seize  the  vessels  they  met  and  take  them  into 
their  hiding  places.  Often  their  spoils  consisted  of  money  and 
other  precious  freight.  Hughson  says,  "For  many  years  after 
the  founding  of  Carolina,  most  of  the  currency  in  circulation  was 
the  gold  and  silver  pieces  brought  in  by  the  pirates  and  priva- 
teers from  their  cruises  in  the  West  Indian  waters."  (6).  It  is 
not  unreasonable  to  suppose,  judging  from  the  extensiveness 
of  her  foreign,  domestic  and  colonial  trade  that  North  Carolina 
had  in  circulation  about  the  same  kind  of  gold,  silver,  and 
other  coins  as  was  in  circulation  in  the  other  colonies.  The 
principal  part  of  her  supply  came  from  England,  Spain  and 
Portugal.  There  was,  therefore,  a  variety  of  coins  in  the 
colony.  The  foreign  coins  had  no  standard  value.  This  was 
determined  by  the  contracting  parties.  In  1704  Queen  Anne 
issued  a  proclamation  for  the  purpose  of  regulating  the  value 
of  the  different  coins  then  in  circulation  throughout  the  Eng- 
lish colonies.  The  following  table  (8)  shows  the  kind  of  coins, 
their  weight,  and  the  value  in  English  money  at  which  she 
wished  each  to  pass  : 

(2)  Jevons'  "Money  and  the  Mechanism  of  Exchange,"  p.  65.  (3)  C.  R  III,  p.  50. 
(4)  Spencer's  "First  Steps  N.  C.  History,"  p.  72.  (5)  "Whitney's  "Government 
of  the  Colony  of  S.  C.,"  p.  110  (6)  Hughson's  "The  Carolina  Pirates  and  Colonial 
Commerce,"  p.  14.  Hawk's  History  of  N.  C.,  Vol.  II,  p.  271.  (7)  Evon's  History 
of  U.  S.  Mint  and  Coinage,"  p.  59.  (8)  Postlethwayt's  "Dictionary  of  Commerce," 
Art.  "Plantations." 

17 


dwt. 

gr. 

s. 

d. 

f. 

Seville  pieces  of  eight,  old  plate,  weight  

17 

12 

4 

6 

0 

"      new     " 

14 

3 

7 

1 

Mexico      "               "                             "         .... 

17 

12 

4 

6 

Pillar        "               "                             "        

17 

12 

4 

6 

3 

Peru          "               "       old  plate,      " 

17 

12 

4 

5 

Cross  dollars,                                         " 

18 

4 

4 

3 

Ducatoonsof  Flanders,                        "        

20 

21 

5 

6 

Ecus  of  France  or  Silver  Lewis,       "        .... 

17 

12 

4 

6 

Crusadoes  of  Portugal,                         '  *        

11 

4 

2 

10 

1 

Three  Guilder  Pieces  of  Holland,     "        

20 

7 

5 

2 

1 

Old  Rix  dollars  of  the  Empire,         "        .... 

18 

10 

4 

6 

The  fractional  parts  were  to  be  proportional  in  value  to  their 
denominations,  and  light  weight  pieces  to  their  weight.  It  was 
doubtless  far  from  her  intention  to  make  these  coins  legal  tender. 
Such  a  course  would  not  have  been  advantageous  to  her  own 
currency.  She  knew  that  the  best  money  would  render  the 
best  service  in  controlling  the  markets  of  the  world.  Conse- 
quently she  placed  the  value  of  the  foreign  coins  at  least  twen- 
ty-five per  cent,  less  than  Sterling.  (9).  In  1707  Parliament 
passed  an  act  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  foreign  coin  in 
circulation  in  the  colonies.  In  order  to  make  the  queen's  proc- 
lamation effective,  a  measure  was  enacted  that  no  person  should, 
after  the  first  day  of  May,  1709,  pay  or  receive  any  other  coins 
mentioned  in  the  proclamation  at  a  higher  rate  than  that  specified 
therein,  on  a  penalty  of  six  months  imprisonment  without  bail 
or  mainprize  and  a  forfeiture  of  ten  pounds  for  every  such 
offence.  While  this  act  was  probably  disobeyed  in  many  in- 
stances and  while  its  tendency  was  to  depreciate  the  foreign 
coins,  it  gave  to  them  a  nominal  value  throughout  the  colonies 
which  doubtless  had  some  slight  influence  on  trade.  In  1783 
the  general  assembly  of  North  Carolina  passed  an  act  rating 
the  foreign  gold  and  silver  coin  in  use  in  the  colony.  The 
following  table  shows  the  kind,  weight,  and  value  of  each  coin: 

Gold  Coins.                                                                             dwt.  grs.      £  N.  Car.  Cur. 

A  Guinea 5  6        1       17        4 

Half  Guinea 2  15       18        8 

French  Guinea 5  5        1       16        0 

Moidore 6  18        2        8        0 

Four  Pistole  Piece 17  0        6        0        0 

A  Pistole 4  4        1       10        0 

Double  Johannes 18  06        8        0 

Single          "         9-  0340 

Half             " 4  12        1    *  12        0 

Quarter       "         2  16      .  0       16        0 

(9)  Whitney's  "Government  of  the  Colony  of  S.  C.,"  p.  111. 

18 


Silver  Coins.                                                                   dwt.  grs.      £  N.  Car.  Cur. 

French  Crown 0  0        0        9        0 

English      "     0  0        0        9        0 

Half  Crown- -  046 

Quarter  Crown —  —023 

ADollar 17  6080 

Half  Dollar —  040 

Quarter  Dollar —  020 

A  Pistareen —  018 

English  Shilling —  018 

It  was  enacted  that  this  rating  should  thereafter  be  read  in 
evidence  in  the  courts,  "to  liquidate  all  Debts  and  Demands 
and  in  entering  up  judgments  thereon."  (10.)  This  applied  to 
future  debts  only.  These  were  the  only  values  at  which 
these  coins  were  allowed  to  circulate. 

While  North  Carolina  coined  no  money,  it  is  probable  that 
some  was  issued  especially  for  her.  In  1660  Lord  Baltimore 
sent  to  Maryland  the  "Baltimore  Shilling,"  which  had  been 
coined  in  London.  Evans  says,  "The  Carolinas,  Virginia  and 
New  Hampshire,  all  followed  Maryland  in  the  introduction  of  a 
colonial  coinage."  (n.)  Governor  Dobbs  in  1754  mentioned 
in  a  letter  to  the  Board  of  Trade  that  he  had  applied  to  the 
treasury  for  the  issuance  of  copper  coinage  for  the  colony. 
(12.)  It  is  quite  probable  that  the  only  coin  ever  authorized  to 
be  issued  from  the  English  mint  for  general  circulation  in  the 
colonies,  was  a  half-penny  piece  of  mixed  metal  which  is  called 
the  "Rosa  Americana"  It  was  issued  in  the  reign  of  George  I. 
The  obverse  side  contains  the  head  of  the  Monarch  and 
the  inscription  "Georgius  Rex."  The  reverse  side  con- 
tains a  crown  over  a  double  rose,  and  the  legend  "Rosa  Ameri- 
cana" and  a  scroll  on  which  are  the  words  "  Utile  Dulci." 
(13)  For  some  time  the  copper  coinage  of  England  consisted 
principally  of  tokens  which  were  issued  by  private  tradesmen 
as  is,  to  a  large  extent,  the  custom  of  China  with  regard  to  the 
coinage  of  small  money.  (14.)  In  Mr.  Smiles'  "Lives  of  Bolton 
and  Watt,"  Bolton  says,  "The  lower  class  of  Manufacturers 
purchased  copper  coin  to  the  nominal  value  of  thirty-six  shill- 
ings for  twenty  shillings  in  silver,  and  distributed  it  to  their 
work-people  in  wages  so  as  to  make  a  considerable  profit." 
(15.)  Private  individuals  were  not  prohibited  from  issuing  cop- 
per coinage  until  the  reign  of  George  III.  (16.)  Boyne  in  his 

(10)  Iredell.  "I^aws  of  N.  C.,  p.  452.  (11)  Evan's  "History  of  the  U.  S.  Mint  and 
Coinage,"  p.  60.  (12)  C.  R.  Vol.  5,  p.  149.  (13)  Evan's  Aistory  of  the  U.  S.  Mint 
and  Coinage,"  p.  60.  (14)  Jevons'  "Money  and  the  Mechanism  of  Exchange,"  p.  65. 
(15)  Jevon's  "Money  and  the  Mechanism  of  Exchange,"  p.  65  .  (16)  Walker's 
"Money,"  p.  168. 

19 


"Tokens  of  the  Seventeenth  Century"  gives  a  list  of  nine 
thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty-six  kinds  of  copper  coin 
issued  by  different  people.  (17.)  There  was  in  circulation  in 
Carolina  a  token  called  the  "Carolina  Elephant."  On  the 
obverse  side  is  the  picture  of  the  London  Elephant.  It  con- 
tained no  legend.  On  the  reverse  side  are  stamped  these  words, 
"God  Preserve Carolinaand  the  Lords  Proprietors,  1694."  In  1768 
the  Assembly  of  North  Carolina  passed  an  act  encouraging  the 
importation  of  the  English  copper  half  pence  and  made  it  legal 
tender  for  the  payment  of  small  debts  for  a  term  of  five 
years.  (18.) 

BARTER    COMMODITIES. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  colony,  gold  and  silver  were  so 
scarce  that  it  was  necessary  for  the  colonists  to  resort  to  the  use 
of  commodities  in  order  to  facilitate  the  exchange  of  their  pro- 
ducts in  satisfying  their  few  and  simple  wants.  (19.)  This  cus- 
tom at  that  time  was  not  peculiar  to  North  Carolina,  it  was 
general  throughout  the  English  colonies. 

The  early  inhabitants  of  North  Carolina  were  mainly  farmers. 
They  settled  along  the  Albemarle  and  Pamlico  sounds  and  the 
rivers  running  into  them.  These  waters  soon  became  thorough- 
fares over  which  they  transported  the  products  of  their  farms  to 
their  neighbors  and  to  markets.  (20.)  At  first,  in  the 
scarcity  of  money,  they  exchanged  commodity  for  commodity 
in  simple  barter.  They  not  only  exchanged  one  article 
for  another,  but  they  also  used  commodities  in  the  payment 
of  their  debts.  (21.)  When  a  judgment  for  damage 
"to  a  cerain  amount"  was  rendered  by  a  court,  it  was  usually 
recorded  as  "payable  in  deer  skins,  hides,  tallow,  or  small  furs, 
at  country  price."  (22.)  Store  houses  were  established  in  the 
several  precincts  for  the  storage  of  commodities  which  were 
paid  to  the  Lords  Proprietors  for  quit-rents  and  for  lands.  (23.) 
The  price  of  these  several  commodities  was  fixed  by  the  As- 
sembly. They  were  made  legal  tender  at  those  prices  in  the 
payment  of  all  foreign  and  domestic  debts  except  in  cases 
where  an  agreement  had  been  made  to  the  contrary.  (24.)  The 
following  is  the  first  list  of  barter  commodities  which  were  so 
rated  :  (25.) 

(17)  Ibid,  p.  168.  (18)  Iredell,  p.  243.  (19)  C.  R.  I,  p.  715.  (20)  Hawks'  vol.  II,  269, 
270,  (21)  Jevons' "Money  and  the  Mechanism  of  Exchange,"  p.  26.  (22)  "William- 
son's "Hist  of  N.  C.,"  vol.  I,  p.  163.  (28)  Williamson's  'Hist,  of  N.  C.."  vol.  I,  p.  163. 
(24)  C.  R.  IV,  920;  Williamson's  "Hist,  of  N.  C.,"  vol.  I,  p.  163.  (25)  C.  R.  IV,  920,  C.  R~ 
IV,  292. 

20 


£        s.        d. 

Indian  Corn,  per  bushel —        1        8 

Tallow,  per  pound -  5 

Beaver  and  Otter  skins,  per  pound —        2        6 

Butter,  per  pound —       —         6 

Raw  buck  and  doe  skins,  per  pound —  9 

Feathers,  per  pound —        1        4 

Pitch,  per  barrel  (full  gauged) 1      —      — 

Pork,  per  barrel •'•  •  < 250 

Tobacco,  per  cwt 0      10        0 

Wheat,  per  bushel 0        3        6 

Leather,  tanned,  uncurried,  per  pound 0        0        8 

Wildcat  skins,  per  piece 0        1        0 

Cheese,  per  pound 004 

Buck  and  doe  skins,  dressed,  per  pound 0        2        6 

Tar,  per  Barrel  (full  gauged) 0      10        0 

Whale  oil,  per  barrel 1       10        0 

Beef ,  per  barrel 1       10        0 

These  commodities  were  rated  in  1715,  the  year  the  laws  of 
the  colony  were  revised.  This  list  as  a  whole  or  in  part  may 
have  been  so  used  prior  to  this  time.  In  1723  the  General 
Assembly,  in  order  to  encourage  the  hemp,  rice  and  turpentine 
industries,  added  to  the  list,  hemp  at  8d.  per  lb.,  rice  at  £i  and 
53.  per  cwt.,  and  turpentine  at  £i  and  53.  per  bbl.  The  price 
of  corn  and  wheat  was  raised  to  two  and  four  shillings  respec- 
tively per  bushel.  These  commodities  were  made  legal  tender 
in  the  payment  of  all  debts  domestic  or  foreign,  when  delivered 
according  to  the  requirements  of  the  Act,  except  where  sterling 
had  been  previously  agreed  upon.'  (26.)  In  i6i8in  Virginia  it  was 
made  a  penalty  of  three  years  hard  labor  for  a  refusal  to  accept 
tobacco  at  three  shillings  per  lb.  (27.)  This  system  seems  to 
have  worked  well  in  the  early  days  of  the  colony  when  the 
settlements  were  made  along  the  coasts,  around  the  Albemarle 
and  Pamlico  Sounds,  and  along  the  rivers.  The  commodities 
were  easily  and  quickly  carried  by  small  boats  to  market.  But 
as  commerce  grew,  the  use  of  barter  commodities  became  bur- 
densome. Sometimes  goods  of  inferior  quality  were  put  on  the 
market,  especially  those  received  in  payment  of  debts.  In  order 
to  remedy  this,  in  1764,  the  Assembly  enacted  that  all  flax,  flax- 
seed,  hemp,  beef,  pork,  butter,  flour,  rice,  tar,  pitch,  turpentine, 
lumber,  heading,  shingles,  staves,  leather,  deer  skins,  and  indigo 
should  be  inspected  before  being  exported.  (28.)  The  chief 
difficulty,  however,  in  the  use  of  commodities  as  money,  was 
what  is  called  the  coincidence  of  barter.  It  is  not  easy  "to  find 
two  persons  whose  disposable  possessions  mutually  suit  each 

(26)  C.  R.  IV,  203.    (27.)  Jevons'  "Money  and  the  Mechanism  of  Exchange,  p.  26. 
(28)  C.  R.  VII,  489. 

21 


others  wants.  There  may  be  many  people  wanting,  and  many 
possessing  those  things  wanted,  but  to  allow  of  an  act  of  barter 
there  must  be  a  double  coincidence,  which  will  rarely  happen." 
(29.)  But  the  conditions  of  the  country  were  such  that  barter 
commodities  were  necessary  down  to  the  end  of  the  colonial 
period. 

BILLS    OF    CREDIT    IN    THE    PROPRIETARY    PERIOD. 

In  1711  the  Tuscarora  Indians  made  war  on  the  colonists, 
and  probably  would  have  destroyed  them  but  for  the  timely 
aid  rendered  by  South  Carolina.  The  Indians  massacred 
the  women  and  children,  burned  the  houses,  killed  and  drove 
away  the  cattle,  hogs,  and  horses,  and  devastated  the  fields. 
(30).  The  colonists  were  almost  impoverished  (31);  few  even 
could  supply  their  families  with  the  necessaries  of  life.  (32). 
Their  trade  had  been  almost  ruined,  the  few  vessels  that  came 
and  went  carried  little  else  than  pitch  and  tar.  (33.)  The  people 
were  burdened  with  debt ;  they  were  in  immediate  need  of 
money  to  pay  their  soldiers  and  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the 
government.  (34).  Under  these  circumstances,  in  1712  the 
Assembly  decided  unanimously  to  issue  ,£4,000  in  paper  cur- 
rency called  bills  of  credit.  These  bills  were  interest-bearing, 
and  were  to  be  redeemed  at  a  time  specified  on  the  bills,  by 
means  of  a  duty  levied  "on  all  goods  exported  or  imported  by 
land  or  water."  Treasurers  were  appointed,  whose  business  it 
was  to  collect  the  duties  and  pay  the  bills  at  maturity.  (35). 
These  were  the  first  bills  of  credit  issued  by  North  Carolina. 
(36).  These  bills  were  expected  to  circulate  at  the  same  value 
as  proclamation  money,  which  they  did  for  a  short  time,  (39) 
but,  owing  to  the  small  amount  of  revenue  collected,  and  to  an 
increase  in  the  military  and  administrative  expenses,  they 
depreciated.  In  1712,  other  bills  were  issued  to  the  amount  of 
,£8, ooo,  increasing  the  amount  in  circulation  to  ,£12,000.  (38). 
Doctor  Hawks  thinks  that  the  ,£8,000  issued  in  1712  were  the 
first  bills  of  credit  ever  issued  by  North  Carolina.  In  discuss- 
ing these  bills  he  says  :  "Forgetful  of  the  fact  that  credit  was 
but  a  temporary  substitute  for  cash  ;  that  the  day  must  come  at 
last  when  the  promise  must  be  redeemed  by  payment,  and  that 
a  violated  promise  must  inevitably  destroy  the  value  of  the 
substitute  on  which  they  relied,  the  Assembly  of  Albemarle  yet 
seemed,  at  first,  as  far  at  least  as  we  can  discover,  to  have 

(29)  Jevon's  "Money  and  the  Mechanism  of  Exchange,"  p.  3.  (30)  C.  R.  I,  827. 
(31)  C.  R.I,  873.  (33)  C.  R.  I,  874.  (33)  C.  R.  I,  873,  874.  (34)  C.  R.  I,  874.  (35)  C.  R.  I, 
838,  83&.  C.  R.  II,  iv.  C.  R.  Ill,  484.  (36)  C.  R.  III.  484.  (37)  C.  R.  Ill,  485.  (38)  C. 
R.  IV,  576. 

22 


ordered   emissions  of  the  bills  without  providing  any   special 
sinking  fund  for  their  ultimate  redemption."  (39). 

In  both  opinions  Doctor  Hawks  is  in  error.  (40.)  As  to  the 
bills  first  issued  he  seems  to  have  overlooked  the  ,£4,000  issue 
which  took  place  before  the  ,£8,000  which  he  claimed  were  the 
first  issued.  (41.)  The  act  of  the  Assembly  which  authorized 
the  third  issue  of  bills  provides  for  the  payment  of  "the  remain- 
ing part  of  the  sum  of  twelve  thousand  pounds  publick  Bills  of 
Credit."  (42.)  In  regard  to  there  being  no  sinking  fund  he  was 
doubtless  misled  by  the  supposition  that  the  bills  of  credit  issued 
by  North  Carolina  were  similar  to  those  issued  by  Pennsylvania. 
(43.)  In  fact  the  Assembly  provided  for  the  redemption  of 
these  bills  by  levying  a  tax  on  polls  and  real  estate.  (44.)  This 
was  the  first  time  real  estate  was  taxed  in  North  Carolina.  (45.) 
A  treasurer  was  appointed  in  each  precinct  whose  duty  it 
was  to  receive  these  taxes  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  bills. 
It  is  quite  probable  that  the  bills  of  .£8,000  issued  were  similar 
to  the  bills  of  the  previous  issue.  (46.)  In  1732  Governor  Bur- 
rington,  in  a  letter  to  the  Lords  of  Trade  and  Plantation,  after 
mentioning  the  sum  of  ,£4,000  in  bills  of  credit  which  was  issued 
in  1712,  says:  "Afterwards  more  bills  were  made  much  in  the 
same  manner,  a  Land  Tax  and  a  Pole  Tax  were  lay'd  to  call  in 
and  sink  the  Bills."  (47.)  It  is  evident  that  he  had  reference  to 
the  ;£8,ooo  issue,  since  the  redemption  of  the  next  issue  was  not 
dependent  on  either  a  land  or  poll  tax.  The  increase  in  the 
volume  of  currency  by  the  issuance  of  the  ;£8,ooo  bills  of  credit 
caused  a  depreciation  of  about  forty  per  cent,  in  the  value  of  all 
the  bills  in  circulation.  (48.)  In  1714  the  Assembly  authorized 
the  emission  of  ,£24,000  in  bills  of  credit  for  the  purpose  of  pay- 
ing the  Government's  indebtedness  and  of  redeeming  the  out- 
standing bills  of  the  .£12,000  previously  issued.  (49.)  The  Act 
directed  that  the  bills  should  be  issued  in  the  following  denomina- 
tions: 

300  of  £  20  3,000  of  20s. 

300  of  £  15  3,300  of  10s. 
480  of  £  10  150  of    8s. 

450  of  £    5  3,000  of    5s. 
300  of  £    3  720  of    2s.  6d. 

There  was  no  interest  allowed  on  these  bills  and  no  time  was 
specified  for  their  redemption.  (50.)  These  were,  when  issued, 

(39)  C.  R.  II,  pp.  4-5.  C.  R.  Ill,  p.  485.  (40)  Hawks'  "'History  of  N.  C."  Vol.  II,  280. 
(41)  C.  R.  Ill,  485.  (42.)  C.  R.  111,177.  (43)  Hawks'  "Hist.  N.  C.,"  vol.  2,  280.  (44.) 
C.  R.  II,  pp.  4-5,  C.  R.  Ill,  485,  C.  R.  IV,  576.  (45.)  C.  R.  II,  pp.  4-5.  (46.)  C  R.  Ill, 
485.  (47)  C.  R.  III.  485.  (48)  C.  R.  IV.  57«.  (49)  C.  R.  Ill,  179,  485;  C.  R.  IV,  576:  C.  R. 
II,  5.  (50)  C.  R.  Ill,  177,  178,  485. 

23 


to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  treasurer  on  or  before  the 
twenty-fifth  day  of  the  following  March,  and  he  was  required  to 
pay  to  the  treasurer  of  each  precinct  the  amounts  due  to  the 
persons  in  their  respective  precincts.  All  out-standing  bills 
were  required  to  be  presented  to  be  exchanged  for  new  bills 
within  six  months  after  the  date  above  mentioned.  (51.)  Two 
years'  interest  was  allowed  on  the  old  bills  exchanged.  Those 
who  neglected  or  refused  to  offer  their  old  bills  for  exchange 
before  the  twenty-fifth  day  of  the  following  August,  were  not 
allowed  interest  thereon,  and  those  who  failed  to  offer  them  be- 
fore the  twenty-fifth  day  of  March  1716,  would  thereby  render 
them  valueless. 

The  bills  of  the  new  issue  were  legal  tender  in  payment  "for 
any  of  the  rated  commodities  of  the  country,  or  other  money, 
except  sterling."  (52.)  The  rate  of  exchange  between  them  and 
sterling  was  fifty  per  cent.  (53.)  Any  person  who  refused  to 
receive  them  at  this  value  was  liable  to  a  forfeiture  of  double  the 
value  of  the  bills  refused.  One-half  of  this  forfeiture  was  to  be  used 
for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  contingent  expenses  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  the  other  half  became  the  property  of  the  person  who 
brought  suit  against  the  person  so  offending.  (54.)  All  persons 
convicted  of  counterfeiting  these  bills  were  to  be  punished  as 
guilty  of  felony,  without  the  benefit  of  clergy.  Any  member  of 
the  Council  who  should  be  guilty  of  making  a  motion  prejudicial 
to  the  credit  of  these  bills  would  be  subject  to  a  fine  of  ,£20  and  sus- 
pension from  that  body  at  the  option  of  the  Lords  Proprietors.  (55.) 
A  member  of  the  lower  house  thus  offending  would  be  subject  to  a 
similar  fine  and  expulsion.  While  the  Assembly  set  no  time  for 
the  redemption  of  this  issue  of  bills,  nevertheless  several  sums 
were  redeemed  between  the  years  1715  and  1722.  (56.)  In 
1717  the  amount  of  out-standing  bills  was  about  sixteen  thou- 
sand pounds.  (57.)  In  1722  the  Assembly  passed  a  bill  author- 
izing the  issuance  of  ;£  12,000  in  bills  of  credit.  The  purpose  of 
this  issue  was  to  redeem  all  the  out-standing  obligations.  It  was 
thought  that  this  sum  would  be  adequate,  although  it  was  only 
half  as  large,  inasmuch  as  many  bills  would  likely  be  lost  or  de- 
faced. (58.)  The  act  authorizing  these  bills  provided  that  three 
commissioners  should  be  appointed  to  issue  and  place  them  in 
the  hands  of  the  public  treasurer  whose  duty  it  was  to  exchange 
them  for  the  old  bills  in  circulation.  It  was  required  that  all  old 
bills  should  be  presented  for  redemption  in  the  new  bills,  by  the 
last  of  August,  1723.  A  failure  to  comply  with  this  requirement 

(51)  C.  R.  Ill,  178.    (52)  C.  R.  Ill,  178.    (53)  C.  R.  Ill,  178.      (54)  C.  R.  Ill,  178.     (55)  C. 
R.  111,179;   (56)  C.  R.  IV,  676.    (57)  C.  R.  II,  296.    (58)  C.  R.  IV,  178,  419,  576,  C.  R.  II,  p.  5. 

24 


rendered  the  bills  valueless.  (59.)  The  act  further  required 
that  a  tax  of  five  shillings  per  poll  should  be  levied  for  the  pur- 
pose of  redeeming  the  old  bills.  The  sheriffs  were  permitted  in 
the  settlement  of  their  accounts  with  the  treasurer  to  pay  bills  of 
credit  or  rated  commodities.  Where  commodities  were  offered 
they  were  to  be  delivered  at  certain  specified  places  on  the  nav- 
igable streams  in  their  respective  precincts.  These  bills  were 
made  legal  tender  at  their  face  value  in  the  payment  of  all 
debts  except  in  cases  where  the  contract  was  otherwise.  Though 
rated  at  fifty  per  cent,  less  than  sterling  they  circulated  generally 
at  the  rate  of  five  for  one  sterling  until  1729.  (60.)  These  bills 
instead  of  being  printed,  were  written,  and  were  therefore,  easily 
defaced  and  obliterated.  So  much  was  this  the  case  that  the 
amount  of  currency  in  circulation  was  considered-  insufficient  to 
meet  the  demands  of  trade.  (61.) 

THE    LAND    BANK. 

In  1729  the  Assembly  made  a  new  departure  in  its  financial 
legislation.  The  act  which  authorized  it  was,  in  comparison 
with  all  previous  acts  authorizing  the  issuance  of  paper  currency, 
a  decided  improvement.  If  all  requirements  had  been  complied 
with,  the  currency,  would  under  the  circumstances,  have  proved 
reasonably  satisfactory.  The  departure  consisted  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  land  bank.  (62.)  It  was  not  a  bank  in  the  modern 
acceptation  of  the  term,  but  an  emission  of  a  sum  of  bills,  not 
for  supplying  the  wants  of  the  government,  but  to  be  lent  at  in- 
terest, to  the  people  on  land  security  for  a  certain  number  of 
years.  Franklin  says  of  such  bills,  "For  as  bills  issued  upon 
money  are  money,  so  bills  issued  upon  land  are  in  effect  coined 
land."  (Walker,  Money,  page  323.)  The  act  appointed  a 
board  of  commissioners  to  issue  forty  thousand  pounds  in  bills 
of  credit,  ten  thousand  pounds  of  which  were  to  be  used  for  the 
purpose  of  redeeming  the  outstanding  bills.  The  amount  of  the 
last  issue  was  ,£12,000,  but  the  Assembly  calculated  on  ^2,000 
being  lost,  torn  or  defaced.  (63.)  The  remaining  thirty  thousand 
were  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  precinct  treasurers  to  be 
lent  to  the  people  for  a  term  of  fifteen  years  at  six  per  cent, 
interest  on  land  secured  by  mortgage.  (64.)  The  interest  and 
one-fifteenth  of  the  principal  were  to  be  paid  annually.  The 
amount  placed  in  each  precinct  was  in  proportion  to  the  numberof 
tithables  determined  by  a  census,  which  was  to  be  certified  to  on 
oath.  (65.)  Each  person  who  wished  to  borrow  money  was  re- 

(.-,9)  Hawks,  II,  282.  (60)  C.  R.  IV.  576.  (61)  C.  R.  IV.  178.  (62)  C.  R.  IV,  419,  576. 
Iredell,  49.  C.  R.  Ill,  486.  (63.)  C.  R.  IV,  576.  (84.)  C.  R.  IV.  576.  418.  C.  R.  II,  p.  5. 
(65)  Hawk's  'Hist.  N.  C.,"  Vol.  II,  283,  etc. 

35 


quired  to  execute  a  mortgage  on  unencumbered  land  worth 
twice  the  amount  of  the  loan.  On  a  failure  to  meet 
these  obligations  the  precinct  treasurers  were  empowered  to  ap- 
point an  officer  whose  duty  it  was  to  "make  distress  and  sale"  of 
the  personal  property  of  the  borrower  to  the  amount  necessary  to 
satisfy  the  claim. 

A  mortgage  could  not  be  foreclosed  until  the  mortgagor  had 
failed  in  three  payments.  The  calculation  was  that  the  thirty 
thousand  pounds  placed  on  interest  as  described  by  the  act, 
would  amount  to  forty-five  thousand  pounds.  This  would  give 
a  profit  to  the  bank  of  fifteen  thousand  pounds.  When  fifteen 
thousand  pounds  were  paid  in,  ten  thousand  pounds  were  to  be 
retired  and  five  thousand  pounds  to  be  put  in  circulation  by 
applying  that  sum  to  the  payment  of  the  commissioners,  the 
precinct  treasurers,  and  the  expenses  of  the  government.  (66). 
The  borrower  of  the  bills  had  the  option  of  paying  his  loan 
before  the  expiration  of  the  specified  time,  on  condition  that 
he  pay  three  per  cent,  interest,  for  the  unexpired  term,  on  the 
amount  borrowed.  The  new  bills  were  made  legal-tender  in 
all  transactions,  except  in  the  payment  of  debts  where  gold  or 
silver  had  been  promised.  The  Assembly  claimed  the  right  to 
determine  each  year  the  rate  at  which  these  bills  should  pass. 
(69).  These  bills  were  issued  the  year  after  the  seven  Lords 
Proprietors  sold  their  interest  in  North  Carolina  to  the  King, 
but  before  the  first  royal  governor  came  to  the  colony.  Gov- 
ernor Burrington  came  in  February,  1730.  Soon  after  his 
arrival  he  declared  the  Act  of  1729,  authorizing  the  issuance  of 
the  forty  thousand  pounds  bills  of  credit,  invalid.  (68).  His 
reason  for  doing  so  was  that  it  was  passed  after  the  Parliament 
had  passed  the  act  vesting  the  rights  of  the  Seven  Lords  Pro- 
prietors in  the  Crown.  (69).  He  ordered  the  precinct  treas- 
urers to  refuse  to  receive  the  annual  installments  from  the 
borrowers  as  required  by  the  act.  (70).  They  acted  in  accord- 
ance with  his  wishes,  and  the  amount  of  currency  then  in  circu- 
lation remained  about  the  same  during  his  administration.  (71). 
This  condition  of  affairs  witnessed  a  great  depreciation  in  the  cur- 
rency. (72).  This  action  of  the  governor  destroyed  the  first 
land  bank  in  North  Carolina.  In  Pennsylvania  the  land  bank 
seems  to  have  been  more  successful.  Governor  Pownal,  who 
had  been  governor  of  Massachusetts,  South  Carolina,  and  New 
Jersey,  says  of  this  system:  "I  will  venture  to  say  that  there 
never  was  a  wiser  or  a  better  measure;  never  one  better  calcu- 

(66)  Hawks,  II,  286,  etc.     (67)  C.  R.  IV,  419.      (68)  C.  R.  IV,  179.      (69)  C.  R.  IV,  179. 
(70)  C.  R.  IV,  p.  179.     (71)  C.  R.  IV,  p.  197.     (72)   C.  R.   IV,  p.   179. 

26 


lated  to  serve  the  uses  of  an  increasing  country ;  that  there 
never  was  a  measure  more  steadily  or  more  faithfully  pursued 
for  forty  years  together  than  the  loan  office  in  Pennsylvania." 
(73). 

BILLS   OF    CREDIT    IN    THE    ROYAL    PERIOD. 

When  Governor  Johnston,  who  succeeded  Governor  Burring  - 
ton,  came  to  the  colony  he  issued  a  proclamation  requiring  all 
precinct  treasurers  to  make  a  report  of  their  accounts  to  the 
assembly  called  to  meet  at  Edenton  in  January,  1734.  They 
were  asked  to  account  for  all  the  money  they  had  received  in 
accordance  with  the  requirements  of  the  Act  of  1729.  (74). 
They  generally  responded,  but  not  more  than  one-tenth  of  the 
money  due  had  been  paid.  (75).  There  was  at  this  time  a 
large  sum  of  quit-rents  due  the  Crown,  and  also  the  taxes 
levied  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  government  since  1729.  In 
view  of  these  circumstances  and  the  scarcity  of  gold  and  silver 
in  the  colony,  it  was  considered  by  the  Assembly  unwise  to 
continue  retiring  the  currency  as  was  required  by  the  Act  of 
1729.  In  this  crisis  they  thought  that  such  a  contraction 
would  not  leave  money  enough  in  circulation  to  meet 
the  expenses  of  the  government  and  pay  the  quit-rents 
due  which  were  at  this  time  demanded  to  be  paid  in  silver. 
(76.)  To  relieve  the  situation  the  Assembly  in  1734  passed  an 
act  providing  for  the  emission  of  forty  thousand  pounds  in 
bills  of  credit.  (77.)  The  bills  were  to  be  exchanged  for  the 
bills  issued  in  accordance  with  the  Act  of  1729.  This  issue  modi- 
fied to  some  extent  the  old  contract.  The  principal  and  the 
interest  were  not  to  be  paid  for  ten  years.  This  plan  furnished 
the  colonists  for  that  period  a  volume  of  currency  to  the  amount 
of  forty  thousand  pounds.  (78.)  In  this  same  year  the  commis- 
sioners were  authorized  by  the  Assembly  to  issue  twenty-five 
hundred  pounds  in  bills  additional  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the 
issue.  Also,  in  1734,  another  act  was  passed  by  the  Assembly 
granting  to  the  King  the  sum  of  fourteen  thousand  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  33.  2d.  to  be  raised  by  a  tax  of  five  shillings 
per  poll  for  five  years.  But  in  order  to  meet  the  immediate  de- 
mands of  the  public  debts  a  clause  was  inserted  in  the  act  by 
the  consent  of  the  Governor  authorizing  the  issuance  of  ten 
thousand  pounds  in  bills  of  credit  as  a  part  of  that  sum.  (79.) 
These  bills  were  to  be  redeemed  by  this  tax  and  a  duty  on  im- 
ported liquors.  The  amount  of  outstanding  bills  of  credit  at 

(73)   Walker's  "Money,"  p.  324.    (74)  C.  R.  IV,  p.  179.     (75)  Ibid,  p.  179.    (76)  C.  R.  II, 
p.  5.    (77)  C.  R.  IV.  179,  419,  577;    (78)  C.  R.  IV,  179,    (79)  C.  R.  IV,  180,  419.      Iredell,  56- 

27 


this  time  was  fifty-two  thousand  five  hundred  pounds.  (80.) 
The  last  issue  of  bills  was  not  made  legal  tender  and  was  not 
rated  when  issued.  In  1738  the  Assembly  passed  an  act  appoint- 
ing a  committee  consisting  of  the  Governor,  the  Council,  the 
Attorney  General,  the  Speaker,  and  an  equal  number  of  the 
lower  house  to  determine  annually  the  value  of  the  bills  of 
credit  in  circulation.  (81.) 

From  1726  to  1740  the  exchange  between  these  bills  and 
sterling  was  ten  to  one.  (82.)  This  would  make  one  ounce 
of  silver  worth  fifty  s.  4d.  in  paper  currency.  In  1740  the 
Assembly  rated  the  paper  currency  at  7^2  to  i.  (83.)  In  1739 
the  Assembly  made  an  effort  to  pass  the  paper  currency  in  pay- 
ment of  quit-rents.  The  officers  declined  to  accept  it  and  pro- 
ceeded to  collect  them.  The  Assembly  ordered  that  the  officers 
should  be  imprisoned.  (84.)  Walker  says,  "The  issues  of  North 
Carolina  were  so  much  out  of  proportion  to  the  requirements  of 
the  colony's  trade,  that  exchange  on  London  rose  in  1740  to 
1400:100."  (85.)  The  outstanding  bills  which  were  issued  in  1734 
were  to  be  redeemed  in  1744,  but  the  financial  condition  of  the 
country  at  that  time  was  critical.  (86.)  This  was  due  in  no 
srilall  degree  to  the  amounts  issued  by  the  different  colonies  in 
aid  of  the  expedition  against  Louisburg.  In  1740  one  ounce  of 
silver  was  equal  in  value  to  twenty-eight  shillings  in  Connecticut 
paper  money.  In  1749  the  exchange  of  Massachusetts  paper 
money  on  London  was  1100:100.  (87.)  In  1744  the  currency 
had  greatly  depreciated  and  there  was  a  large  amount  of  quit- 
rents  due  the  crown  and  Earl  of  Granville.  The  debt  of  the 
colony  was  large  and  business  was  greatly  depressed.  (88.) 
The  condition  of  affairs  was  so  bad  that  Governor  Johnston 
said,  "not  a  Man  would  go  twenty  miles  as  an  Express  on  the 
Public  Faith."  (89.)  In  this  crisis,  the  people  demanded 
issuance  of  bills  of  credit.  They  were  so  urgent  that  Governor 
Johnston  felt  it  necessary  to  favor  their  demands,  although  he 
had  been  instructed  by  the  King  not  to  do  so.  (90).  In  1747 
an  event  occurred  which  determined  the  action  of  the  governor 
in  reference  to  this  matter.  Several  small  vessels  laden  with 
armed  men  came  from  St.  Augustine  into  North  Carolina 
waters.  Where  they  landed  they  did  great  damage.  They 
killed  many  people,  burned  vessels,  stole  negroes,  and  slaugh- 
tered cattle  and  hogs.  This  aroused  the  people  to  the  neces- 

(80)  C.  R.  IV,  180,  577.  (81)  C.  R.  IV,  419.  (82)  C.  R.  IV,  419.  5T7.  (83)  Williamson's 
"Hist,  of  N-C."  Vol.11,  56.  (84)  Williamson's  "Hist,  of  N.  C."  Vol.  II.  42.  (85)  Walker's 
"Money,"  325.  (86.)  C.  R.  IV,  921,  (87)  Walkers'  "Money,"  p.  321.  (88)  C.  R.  IV.  928. 
(89)  C.  R.  IV,  921.  (90)  C.  R.  IV,  922. 

28 


sity  of  building  forts.  To  meet  this  emergency  the  governor 
yielded,  and  in  1748  the  Assembly  passed  an  act  authorizing 
the  issuance  of  ,£21,350  in  bills  of  credit.  (91).  At  the  rate  of 
exchange  at  that  time  this  sum  was  equal  to  ,£16,012-10  sterl- 
ing. As  specified  in  the  act,  the  bills  were  to  be  used  as 
follows:  ,£2,000  to  build  a  fort  at  Ocracoke  inlet;  ,£1,50010 
build  a  fort  at  Topsail  inlet ;  .£500  to  build  a  fort  at  Bear  inlet ; 
,£2,000  to  build  a  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cape  Fear  river ; 
<£I5>35°  to  redeem  the  outstanding  bills  of  credit  and  pay  the 
expenses  of  the  government.  (92).  The  denominations  of  these 
bills  varied  from  4d.  to  ,£3.  In  exchanging  the  new  for  the 
old  bills,  one  shilling  in  new  bills  was  to  be  given  for  seven 
shillings  and  six  pence  in  old  bills.  They  were  made  legal- 
tender  in  all  payments  at  the  rate  of  four  shillings  in  paper 
currency  for  three  shillings  sterling.  A  tax  of  one  shilling  per 
poll  was  authorized  to  be  levied  as  a  sinking  fund  until  all  the  bills 
were  redeemed.  (93).  The  penalty  for  counterfeiting  these 
bills  was,  for  the  first  offence,  whipping  not  exceeding  forty 
lashes,  standing  in  the  pillory  two  hours,  and  having  both  ears 
nailed  to  the  pillory  and  cut  off.  For  a  repetition  of  the  offence 
the  criminal  was  to  be  regarded  as  a  felon  and  punished  accord- 
ingly. (94.) 

There  were  ,£20,646,  145.  of  these  bills  in  circulation  in  1750, 
having  maintained  the  value  at  which  they  were  issued.  (95.)  In 
1749  the  sum  of  ,£189:13:3  had  been  redeemed,  and  in  1750  the 
sum  of  ,£5 1 3: 1 2:0.  (96.)  In  1754  a  new  occasion  arose  for  the 
expansion  of  the  currency.  A  contest  commenced  which  was 
eventually  to  decide  whether  England  or  France  should  be  the 
mistress  of  the  New  World.  This  war  brought  the  thirteen  sep- 
arate colonies  into  a  sympathy  and  confederation  which  ripened 
into  a  national  union  of  states.  Governor  Dinwiddie  of  Virginia, 
called  on  the  several  colonies  for  aid  in  the  war.  In  order  to  do 
her  part  and  meet  the  expenses  of  the  government,  North  Caro- 
lina resorted  again  to  the  expediency  of  issuing  bills  of  credit. 
In  1754  the  Assembly  passed  an  act  authorizing  the  issuance  of 
,£40,000.  (97.)  Commissioners  were  appointed  for  stamp- 
ing and  signing  the  bills.  The  bills  were  to  be  of  the  fol- 
lowing denominations  :  40  shillings,  30  shillings,  26  shillings  and 
8  pence,  20  shillings,  15  shillings,  10  shillings,  5  shillings,  4  shil- 
lings, 2  shillings  and  8  pence,  i  shilling,  8  pence,  and  4  pence. 

(91)  C.  R.  IV,  922  C.  R.  VI,  22  1308.  C.  R.  VIII,  213.  C.  R.  IX,  741.  Iredell,  115, 
134.  (92)  C.  R.  VIII.  213.  Iredell,  115.  (93)  C.  R.  VI,  1308.  Iredelt,  117.  (94)  Iredell, 
117.  (95)  C.  R.  IV,  1073.  (96)  C.  R.  IV,  1072.  (97)  C.  R.  V.208,  C.  R.  VI.22,  C.  R.  VIII.213, 
Iredell,  157. 

29 


(98.)  They  were  to  be  used  for  the  following  purposes  :  ,£12,- 
ooo  to  aid  Virginia  against  the  French  and  the  Indians,  ,£2,000 
to  improve  and  defend  Fort  Johnston,  ,£1,000  to  equip  the  poorer 
soldiers  of  Anson  and  Rowan  counties  with  ammunition  and  arms, 
,£4,200  to  pay  the  public  debts,  £7,000  for  the  establishment  of 
a  public  school,  ,£7,200  to  be  divided  among  the  twenty-four 
parishes  to  be  used  for  a  parish  church,  glebe,  and  parsonage. 
,£2,000  to  finish  the  public  buildings  of  the  province,  ,£2,800 
to  pay  contingent  expenses  of  the  government,  ,£800  to  stamp, 
sign  and  pay  out  the  bills.  (99.)  These  bills  were  to  be  legal 
tender  in  all  business  transactions  at  the  rate  of  ,£4  in  bills  for 
;£3  sterling.  (100.)  The  penalty  for  counterfeiting  these  bills 
was,  for  the  first  offence,  that  the  convict  should  be  whipped  at 
the  discretion  of  the  court,  not  exceeding  forty  lashes  and  stand 
in  the  pillory  for  two  hours,  have  his  ears  nailed  to  the  pillory 
and  then  cut  off.  For  a  second  offence  the  offender  should  be 
considered  a  felon  and  be  punished  accordingly  without  the  ben- 
efit of  clergy.  (101.)  The  act  provided  that  a  tax  of  one  shil- 
ling per  poll  and  a  duty  of  four  pence  a  gallon  on  all  wine,  rum, 
or  other  liquors,  imported  either  by  land  or  sea  from  any  place 
except  Great  Britain,  should  be  levied  and  collected  as  a  sinking 
fund  until  the  bills  were  redeemed.  (102.)  In  1755  the  Assem- 
bly found  it  necessary  to  order  the  ,£7,200  which  had  been  ap- 
propriated for  churches,  glebes,  and  parsonages,  and  also  the 
;£2,ooo  appropriated  for  the  purpose  of  finishing  the  public 
buildings  of  the  colony,  to  be  applied  to  the  purpose  of  defray- 
ing the  expenses  of  repelling  the  French  and  Indians  from  that 
territory  claimed  by  both  French  and  English.  (103.)  The 
amount  of  out-standing  bills  in  1754  was  ,£61,350,  four  shillings 
of  which  were  to  be  equal  to  three  shillings  sterling. 

These  bills  were  to  be  redeemed  by  a  tax  of  one  shilling  per 
poll  and  a  duty  of  four  pence  a  gallon  on  all  imported  liquors. 
This  tax  and  duty  were  to  be  paid  until  all  the  bills  were 
redeemed.  (104).  There  were  no  bills  of  credit  issued  from 
1754  to  1760.  The  colonists  tried  another  plan  for  supplying  a 
currency.  They  resorted  to  the  expediency  of  issuing  inter- 
est-bearing treasury  notes.  In  1760,  however,  the  Assembly 
authorized  the  issuance  of  ^£12,000  in  bills  of  credit.  (105). 
They  were  issued  in  the  following  denominations:  ^3,  £2,  30 
shillings,  ^£1,10  shillings,  five  shillings,  two  shillings  and  eight 
pence,  two  shillings,  one  shilling,  8  pence,  six  pence,  and  four 

(98)  Iredell,  157.  (99)  Iredell,  159, 160.  C.  R.  VIII,  213,  C.  R.  V,  109.  (100)  C.  R.  VI, 
1308.  Iredell,  158.  (101)  IredeJl,  158.  (102)  C.  R.  VI.,  1308.  C.  R.  VIII,  213,  Iredell,  160. 
(103)  C.  R.  V,  279,  Iredell,  168-1G9.  (104)  C.  R.  VI,  1309.  (105)  C.  R.  VI,  1309.  Iredell,  192. 

30 


pence.  (106).  They  were  made  legal-tender  in  all  transactons 
of  business  at  the  rate  of  four  shillings  in  bills  for  three  shil- 
lings sterling.  They  were  issued  for  the  following  purposes : 
,£7,000  were  to  be  used  in  pay  ing  the  expenses  of  an  expedition 
against  the  Cherokee  Indians  ;  ,£3,000  were  issued  for  the  pay- 
ment of  the  public  debts  ;  ^2,000  were  to  be  used  in  the  pay- 
ment of  rewards  for  killing  Indians.  It  was  required  of  the 
person  who  wished  to  claim  such  a  reward  that  he  present  the 
scalp  of  the  Indian  to  the  Assembly  and  take  an  oath  that  he 
had  killed  the  Indian  or  was  present  at  the  killing,  and  that  he 
had  received  no  reward  from  the  government.  If  the  claimant 
were  on  pay,  he  was  entitled  to  a  reward  of  five  dollars.  If 
not,  he  was  entitled  to  a  reward  of  ten  dollars.  (107).  These 
bills  were  to  be  redeemed  by  a  tax  of  one  shilling  per  poll,  to 
be  levied  in  January,  1763,  and  continued  until  all  the  bills  of 
this  issue  had  been  redeemed.  (108).  Counterfeiting  these 
bills  was  to  be  regarded  as  a  felony,  and  was  to  be  punished 
accordingly.  (109). 

In  1761,  the  Assembly  authorized  the  emission  of  ,£20,000 
bills  of  credit,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  and  equipping  forces  to 
assist  Virginia  and  South  Carolina.  The  bills  were  made  legal 
tender  in  all  transactions  as  proclamation  money.  They  were 
issued  in  the  following  denominations;  ^3,  forty  shillings,  thirty 
shillings,  twenty  shillings,  fifteen  shillings,  ten  shillings,  five 
shillings,  four  shillings,  three  shillings,  two  shillings  and  six  pence, 
two  shillings,  one  shilling,  eight  pence,  six  pence,  and  four  pence, 
(no.)  A  provision  was  made  in  the  act  for  the  redemption  of 
these  bills  by  levying  a  tax  of  two  shillings  per  poll,  commencing 
in  January,  1764,  and  continuing  until  all  the  bills  of  this  issue  had 
been  retired,  (in.)  Counterfeiting  these  bills  was  considered 
a  felony  and  was  to  be  punished  accordingly.  This  was  the  last 
emission  of  bills  of  credit  by  North  Carolina  until  she  became 
independent.  In  1764  Parliament  passed  an  act  prohibiting  the 
colonies  from  issuing  bills  of  credit  with  legal  tender  value. 
(112.) 

TREASURY    NOTES. 

In  1756  the  assembly  passed  an  act  granting  the  King  an  aid 
of  ^£3,400  for  the  purpose  of  defraying  the  expenses  of  con- 
structing a  fort  and  for  equipping  and  paying  two  companies  of 
soldiers  for  the  protection  of  the  western  frontier.  (113.)  This 


(106)  Iredell,  192.  (107)  Iredell.  193.  (108)  C.  R.  VIII,  214.  Iredell.  183-194.  (109). 
Iredell,  194.  (110)  Iredell,  198,  199.  C.  R.  VII,  p.  214.  (Ill)  Iredell.  199.  (112).  Whit- 
ney's "Government  of  the  Col.  of  3.  C."  p.  114.  Walker's  "Money, ",'p.  324.  (113)  C. 
R.  V,  p.  678,687,  798. 

31 


sum  was  issued  in  treasury  notes  at  the  rate  of  proclamation 
money,  bearing  interest  at  six  per  cent,  from  the  date  of  issuance 
until  November  loth,  1757.  These  were  simple  interest  bearing 
promissory  notes.  They  were  to  be  redeemed  by  a  tax  of  two 
shillings  per  poll  and  a  duty  of  two  pence  per  gallon  on  all  im- 
ported liquors  for  a  year.  (114.)  The  surplus  was  to  be  applied 
to  the  payment  of  the  contingent  expenses  of  the  government. 
(115.)  In  1757  an  additional  sum  of  ^5,306  in  treasury  notes 
was  issued  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  South  Carolina.  These 
notes  were  to  bear  interest  at  six  per  cent,  until  September  29, 
1758.  They  were  to  be  redeemed  by  levying  a  tax  of  four 
shillings  and  six  pence  per  poll  for  that  year,  and  a  tax  on  law 
suits  for  two  years.  (116).  There  was  issued  the  same  year 
the  sum  of  ,£9,500  in  interest-bearing  treasury  notes,  which 
was  to  be  paid  by  a  tax  of  six  shillings  and  six  pence  per  poll 
for  a  year,  the  rate  of  interest  being  6  per  cent.  The  surplus 
interest  was  to  be  applied  to  the  payment  of  the  contingent 
expenses  of  the  government.  (117).  ,£2,500  of  this  appropria- 
tion were  to  be  used  in  payment  of  the  debts  of  the  colony, 
and  the  remaining  ,£7,000  were  to  be  used  for  the  payment  of 
the  military  expenses  of  the  colony.  (118).  In  1758,  the  sum 
of  ,£7,000  of  treasury  notes  was  issued.  These  notes  were  to 
bear  interest  at  six  per  cent,  until  December  12,  1759.  They 
were  issued  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  and  maintaining  the 
colonial  forces  under  the  command  of  Brigadier  General  Forbes 
and  for  garrisoning  the  forts  along  the  Atlantic  coast.  (119).  The 
denominations  of  the  notes  were  as  follows  :  ,£2,000  of  10  shill- 
ings ;  ^4,000  of  20  shillings  ;  ,£1,000  of  40  shillings.  (120). 

These  notes  were  to  be  paid  by  levying  a  tax  of  four  shil- 
lings and  six  pence  per  poll  for  a  year,  and  a  duty  of  two  pence 
per  gallon  on  all  imported  liquors  for  a  period  of  four  years. 
The  surplus  was  to  be  applied  to  the  payment  of  the  contingent 
expenses  of  the  government.  (121). 

In  November  of  the  same  year,  the  sum  of  ,£4,000  of 
treasury  notes  was  issued  to  be  used  in  garrisoning  Fort  John- 
ston and  Fort  Granville,  and  for  other  purposes.  (122.)  These 
notes  were  to  bear  interest  until  June  loth,  1761.  Provision  was 
made  for  their  redemption  by  levying  a  tax  of  three  shillings  and 
a  penny  per  poll  for  a  year.  The  surplus  of  this  tax  was  to  be 
used  in  payment  of  the  contingent  expenses  of  the  government. 

(114)  C.  R.  VI,  1309.  C.  R.  VIII,  p.  213.  (115)  C.  R.  VIII.  p.  213.  (116)  C.  R.  VI,  1398. 
C.  R.  VIII,  213.  ,(H7)  C.  R.  VI  1309.  Iredell,  214.  (118)  C.  R.  VIII,  214.  (119)  C.  R. 
V,  1003.  C.  R.  VI,  1310.  C.  R.  VIII,  214.  Iredell,  182.  (120)  C.  R.  V,  1003.  (121)  C.  R. 
Y,  1003.  C.  R.  VI,  1310.  (122)  C.  R.  VIII,  214.  Iredell,  183. 


(123.)  In  1759,  the  sum  of  .£5,500  of  interest  bearing  treasury 
notes,  which  had  been  borrowed  from  different  funds,  was  re- 
issued as  non-interest  bearing  notes.  This  issue,  therefore,  did 
not  increase  the  number  of  treasury  notes  in  circulation,  author- 
ized. A  tax  of  a  shilling  per  poll  was  levied  for  three  years  for 
the  purpose  of  redeeming  them.  (124.)  According  to  the 
financial  report  made  to  the  Governor  in  1764  there  had  been 
issued  since  1747  ,£93,350  in  bills  of  credit  and  .£30,776  of  in- 
terest-bearing notes  including  interest,  making  in  both  bills  of 
credit  and  interest  bearing  notes  the  sum  of  ,£124,126.  The  sum 
of  .£49093:  1  5:10  including  principal  and  interest  had  been  re- 
deemed, leaving  £75032:4:2  unredeemed.  This  sum  was  to  be 
redeemed  by  a  tax  of  four  shillings  per  poll  and  a  duty  of  four- 
pence  per  gallon  on  all  imported  liquors.  Both  of  these  sources 
of  revenue  were  authorized  to  be  continued  until  all  of  this  sum 
should  be  retired.  (125.)  The  following  table  will  show  the 
amount  of  both  bills  and  notes  redeemed  each  year.  (126.) 


When  Burned.  Bi  Interest  Notes. 

£  s.  d.  £         s.       d. 

1749—  April  14  ...........  189  13  3  ........ 

1750—  April  6  ............  513  12  0  ........ 

1751—  OctoberO  ..........  527  14  4  ........ 

1752—  April  10  ...........  1,090  17  6  ........ 

1753—  April  11  ..........  739  6  8  ........ 

1754_February  ..........  337  17  3  ........ 

1755—  January  11  ........  958  1  4  ....... 

October  15  ........  938  15  10  ......... 

1756—  October  21  ........  1,809  0  5  ....... 

1757—  Nov.  29  ...........  1,986  13  5  2,540      0        0 

1758—  December  22  ......  1,701  10  11  7,843      0        0 

1760—  January  9  .........  1,143  5  4  ........ 

May  27  ...................  1,260     19         3 

December  1  .......  1,479  2  5  3,113      0        3 

1761—  April  21  ...........  105  13  3  513       1         3 

1762—  April  27  ...........  2,057  19  111  5,124     14        9 

December  .........  1,710  15  11  1,119      8        9 

1764—  March  7  ...........  1,140  9  8  1,673     12        6 

November  ........  7,171  0  8  1,958     10        1 

17C6—  November  ........  3,786  7  8  1,711     11       22 

1768—  January  ...........  7,774  9  7  ........ 


£37,162    7s.     4d.      £26,857  18s,     Od. 

In  1767  England  considered  the  advisability  of  furnishing  a 
currency  for  the  use  of  the  colonies.  Three  plans  were  con- 
sidered :  (a)  for  England  to  furnish  an  interest-bearing  medium 

(123)  C.  R.  VI,  1310.  C.  R.  VIII,  214.  Iredell  1S3.  (124)  C.  R.  VI,  131U.  (126)  C.  R. 
VI,  1310.  1311.  (iJiG)  C.  R.  VIII,  215. 

83 


to  be  put  in  circulation  by  paying  the  army  and  the  navy,  and 
by  means  of  a  loan  to  the  several  colonies;  (b)  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  bank  connected  with  the  bank  of  England,  to  be 
known  as  the  Bank  of  America,  with  the  authority  to  issue  notes; 
(c)  for  taking  the  financial  affairs  of  the  colonies  from  Parlia- 
ment and  placing  them  in  the  hands  of  the  Crown  and  boards 
as  was  originally  the  custom.  (127.)  This  last  plan,  if  it  had 
been  adopted,  would  have  repealed  the  restrictive  acts  of  Par- 
liament, and  would  have  permitted  the  colonies  to  issue  bills  on 
three  conditions:  (a)  that  the  amount  fixed  by  Parliament 
should  not  be  exceeded  nor  increased  afterward  without  the 
consent  of  the  Crown  ;  (b)  that  when  an  issue  of  bills  was  made 
all  debts  were  to  be  secured  and  were  not  to  suffer  any  loss  by 
such  omissions  ;  (c)  that  all  sterling  debts  should  be  paid  in 
sterling  value,  and  all  contracts  should  be  kept.  (128).  In  1768 
the  Assembly  authorized  the  issuance  of  the  sum  of  ,£20,000 
in  certified  notes  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  soldiers  to  sup- 
press an  insurrection  on  the  western  frontier,  and  meeting  other 
demands.  These  notes  were  not  made  legal-tender.  Such  an 
action  would  have  been  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  act  of 
Parliament  passed  in  1764.  They  were  only  promissory  notes, 
but  money  was  so  scarce  at  that  time  that  they  circulated  as 
freely  as  if  they  had  been  bills  of  credit.  (129). 

In  1771,  the  Assembly  authorized  the  issuance  of  ,£60,000  in 
debenture  notes  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  expenses  of  Gov- 
ernor Tryon's  war  against  the  Regulators.  These  notes  did  not 
bear  interest.  They  were  to  be  redeemed  by  a  tax  of  two  shill- 
ings per  poll  for  a  period  of  ten  years,  unless  sufficient  funds  for 
that  purpose  were  available  sooner.  (130.)  Although  the 
colonists  needed  more  money,  this  measure  was  unpopular. 
Governor  Martin  had  been  instructed  to  call  a  new  Assembly, 
but  he  was  advised  that  a  new  assembly  would  not  favor  such  a 
measure.  He,  therefore,  referred  the  matter  to  the  old  Assembly 
which  had  authorized  the  levy  of  soldiers  for  the  expedition. 
Some  members  of  the  Assembly  had  served  in  this  war.  (131.) 
In  1771  a  report  was  made  to  the  Assembly  by  the  Clerk  of  the 
Committee  of  Accounts  showing  that  the  sum  of  ,£4,340:7:6 
more  of  special  taxes  had  been  collected  than  should  have  been. 
(132.)  In  view  of  this  fact  the  Assembly  passed  an  act  to  dis- 
continue the  collection  of  these  taxes.  The  Governor  charac- 
terized this  act  "as  teeming  with  fraud,"  and  refused  his  assent. 


(127)  C.  R.  VIII,  517.     (ISM)  C.  R.  VIII,  517.     (128)  C.  R.  VIII,  21*.    Iredell.  213.    (130) 
C.  R.  IX,  v.,  72,  76,  221,  260.    Iredell,  258.     (131)  C.  R.  IX,  xii.     (1132.)  C.  R.  IX,  xvi. 

34 


(I33-)  The  Assembly,  anticipating  his  intention,  had  prepared 
resolutions  to  discontinue  these  taxes  and  indemnify  the  sheriffs 
for  not  collecting  them.  These  resolutions  were  intended  to  be 
recorded  in  the  journal,  but  the  Governor,  aware  of  this  inten- 
tion, dissolved  the  Assembly  immediately  after  rejecting  the  act. 
Colonel  William  L.  Saunders  says:  "Mr.  Speaker  Caswell  com- 
municated the  purport  of  the  resolves  to  the  treasurers  as  an 
order  from  the  Assembly  and  thereupon  the  taxes  in  question 
were  omitted  from  the  tax  lists  sent  down  to  the  counties  for 
collection."  (134.)  The  Governor  issued  a  proclamation  in- 
structing the  sheriffs  to  continue  the  collections.  (135.) 

The  trouble  between  the  Assembly  and  the  Governor  over  the 
tax  question  continued  till  the  close  of  the  colonial  period.  (136.) 

CONCLUSION. 

The  history  of  the  currency  of  North  Carolina  during  the 
colonial  period  shows  the  use  of  a  great  variety  of  commodities 
and  many  examples  of  inconvertible  paper  issues  in  addition 
to  the  gold,  silver  and  other  coins.  The  early  inhabitants  with 
the  small  amount  of  gold  and  silver  they  possessed  were  unable 
to  exchange  the  products  of  their  industry  without  relying  largely 
on  the  use  of  barter  commodities.  We  find  the  paper  currency 
of  this  period  based  on  land,  on  taxes,  and  on  the  credit  of  the 
colony.  The  Assembly  issued  paper  currency  to  pay  the  ex- 
penses of  war,  to  meet  the  demands  made  on  the  treasury,  and 
to  lend  to  the  people  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  industry. 
The  spirit  North  Carolinia  has  shown  in  her  financial  legislation, 
limited  as  she  was  by  England's  commercial  and  financial  policy, 
is  in  the  main  commendable.  Few  bills  or  notes  were  issued  for 
which  she  did  not  at  the  time  make  provision  for  redemption. 
We  are  not  aware  of  any  that  the  Assembly  did  not  attempt  to 
redeem.  In  1772  Governor  Martin  refused  to  endorse  an  act 
authorizing  the  issuance  of  the  sum  of  ,£120,000  in  debenture 
notes  for  the  purpose  of  redeeming  the  outstanding  debenture 
notes  and  bills  of  credit.  He  refused  his  assent  because  he  re- 
garded it  inconsistent  with  the  act  of  Parliament  passed  in  1764, 
concerning  the  issuance  of  bills  of  credit.  (137.)  The  debenture 
notes  issued  in  1771  were  the  last  paper  currency  North  Caro- 
lina issued  before  she  became  independent.  In  1775,  feeling 
no  longer  the  restrictive  influence  of  Parliament,  she  returned  to 
the  policy  of  issuing  bills  of  credit. 

(133.)  C.  R.  IX,  pp.  xvi,  xvii.  (134)  C.  R.  IX,  xvii.  (135)  C.  R.  IX,  xvii.  (136)  C,  R. 
IX,  xix.  (137)  C.  R.  IX,  258. 

85 


VITA. 


Edwin  Wexler  Kennedy  was  born  in  Tennessee  August  25th, 
1857,  received  his  preliminary  education  in  the  public  and 
private  schools  in  Blount  county,  and  the  degree  of  A.  B.  from 
the  University  of  Tennessee  in  1880  ;  taught  in  the  Knoxville 
city  schools,  Tennessee,  and  in  the  Goldsboro  city  schools, 
North  Carolina  ;  was  for  twelve  years  superintendent  of  the 
Durham  city  schools,  North  Carolina.  From  1895  to  l897  he 
was  instructor  in  history  in  the  Woman's  College  of  Baltimore, 
and  from  1894  to  1897  he  was  a  graduate  student  in  the  Johns 
Hopkins  University.  His  studies  were  History,  Jurisprudence 
and  Politics,  and  the  subject  of  his  thesis,  "Quit-rents  and  Cur- 
rency in  North  Carolina,  1663-1776." 


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